Judgment :-

S.B. Sinha, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against a judgment and order dated 22.8.2005 passed by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla in FAO No.127 of 1999 whereby and whereunder an appeal preferred against a judgment and award dated 28.10.1998 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal-II [MACT (I), Nahan] in MAC Petition No.21-NL/2 of 1997, was set aside.

3. One Jawala Ram, husband of the first appellant herein, was a Police Constable. He was posted at Police Station Dharampur. On 11.2.1997 at about 7 or 8 am, he was standing near the shop of one Chand Kishore. A bus bearing registration No.HP-14-3596 owned by the first respondent was parked there. The second respondent Vijay Kumar was the driver and the third respondent Om Dutt was the conductor of the aforementioned bus. Allegedly, the driver of the bus, Vijay Kumar, reversed the bus without blowing any horn as a result whereof Jawala Ram died on the spot. Allegedly, conductor also did not bother to check whether any person was standing behind the bus.

4. Respondents, however, denied and disputed occurrence of the said accident. According to them, the deceased died the previous evening and finding the dead body of a person wrapped in a blanket lying at some distance from the bus; they informed the police personnel, whereafter the driver was falsely implicated.

5. The factum of accident, thus, being denied and dis; one of the issues framed by learned Tribunal on the claim application filed by the appellants herein for grant of compensation in terms of Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was:

"Whether Sh. Jawala Ram died on 11.2.1997 near Dharampur, due to rash and negligent of Bus No.HP-14-3596 by respondent No.2 and negligent conduct of respondent No.3 as alleged?"

6. The learned Tribunal upon consideration of the evidence adduced on behalf of the appellant and the first respondent, opined :

(1) Death of Jawala Ram on 11.2.1997 at Dharampur was not disputed.

(2) First Information Report was registered at Police Station, Dharampur on the said date also stands admitted.

(3) Even if the allegations made in the First Information Report are not taken into consideration, the death of Jawala Ram in an accident stood proved by the post mortem examination report (Exhibit-PY) in terms whereof he had died due to brain injury.

(4) Death of Jawala Ram in an accident has also been proved by Shri Dharam Pal (PW3) who was an eye-witness to the occurrence.

7. The driver and conductor of the bus admitted their presence at the scene of occurrence. Vijay Kumar (RW1) alleged that he had seen the dead body wrapped in a blanket behind the bus when he was still to start the bus. The Tribunal did not find his statement to be reliable. Bhawani Dutt (RW2) did not support the version of the respondent as he stated that the driver and conductor of the bus had gone to the police station and the people gathered there stated that someone had been lying dead. He, according to the Tribunal, also could not deny positively that the accident had not taken place because of the use of the bus in question.

It is difficult to believe that the Police Officers would fabricate a case against the respondents. The learned Tribunal opined:

"Therefore, keeping in view the statement of PW, Dharam Pal, the death of Jawala Ram because of injuries, the presence of the Bus of the respondents and place and time of the occurrence and the other circumstances of the case, I am convinced that the death of Jawala Ram took place after being hit by the Bus when it was being reversed in backward directions. Once, it is so held, the respondents, driver and conductor shall have to be held negligent in reversing the bus in backward directions without blowing horn or whistle or giving indication to the persons standing there. Had the driver and conductor of the bus taken care to blow horn or to forewarn the persons standing there before reversing the bus, Jawala Ram, who was stated to be stand