JUDGMENT:

S.B. SINHA, J :

1. Leave granted.

2. Appellant was a driver of a bus belonging to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. He was driving the said vehicle on 18.4.1995. A collision took place between the said bus and a truck bearing Registration No. CAM 6939. A large number of passengers travelling in the said bus were injured. Appellant herein was also one of them. The passengers of the said bus as also the appellant filed applications for payment of compensation before the Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Tribunal, Belgaum in terms of Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short "the Act").

Appellant was also prosecuted for rash and negligent driving before a criminal court. No such case was initiated against the driver of the truck.

The Corporation denied and disputed the contention of the passengers that the appellant was driving the bus in a rash and negligent manner.

Appellant examined himself in the other claim petitions in support of the case of the Corporation. He, however, was not impleaded as a party therein. It is stated that ordinarily drivers are not impleaded as parties in the claim cases in the State of Karnataka, purported to be having regard to the provisions contained in Rule 235 of the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

3. Both sets of claim cases were taken up for hearing together by the Tribunal. The awards were also passed on the same day.

4. In the claim applications filed by the passengers, despite the deposition of the appellant to the contrary, a finding of fact was arrived at, that he was driving the bus rashly and negligently.

5. The claim petitions of the passengers were allowed. The Corporation did not challenge the correctness of the said awards. They attained finality. The Tribunal in the case of the appellant also went into the question once over again to hold that the accident was caused owing to the rash and negligent driving of the appellant. It was opined that only because he had been acquitted of the charges by the criminal court in Section 279 or 338 of the Indian Penal Code, the same was not conclusive, stating :

" .It is the version of the petitioner that there was negligence on the part of the truck driver. But the nature of damage caused to either vehicles does not corroborate the same. On perusal of Ex. P3 it is mentioned that the front show of the KSRTC bus was completely damaged, head light radiator and front right driver door damaged, bonnet damaged in the course of accident. On the other hand Ex. P3 reveals that front right show damaged, front bumper bent, front right head light broken, front right wind shield glass broken, radiator cover damaged. Therefore the nature of damage caused to the truck reveals unequivocally that only right side portion of the truck was damaged. If really the truck driver had come on right side from Belgaum to Kanbargi road and dashed against the KSRTC bus, the middle portion of the truck would have been damaged. On the other hand, the middle portion of KSRTC bus is damaged as per the recitals in Ex. P3. Therefore the nature of damages caused to the bus reveals the fact that it was the bus driver who came towards right side of the Kanbargi Belgaum road while over taking a parked truck. The fact that the bus driver was trying to overtake parked truck is not in dispute."

6. The Tribunal expressly negatived the contention of the appellant that it was the truck driver who was driving the truck rashly and negligently, stating:

"There was no reason for the petitioner being a driver of the KSRTC bus to take the same to the extreme right side of the Belgaum Kanbargi road as to cause accident. It is also admitted by the petitioner as well as in the petition itself that the KSRTC driver was trying to overtake a parked lorry. At that time the petitioner being a driver of the KSRTC should have seen whether there was any vehicle which were coming on opposite direction at the time of overtaking a parked lorry. It appears that there was neglige