JUDGMENT

Indu Malhotra, J.

Leave granted.

1. The present Civil Appeal has been filed by the claimant to challenge the Judgment and Order dated 20.09.2017 passed in FAO No. 10473 of 2014 by the Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh.

2. The background facts in which the present Civil Appeal has been filed, briefly stated, are as follows:

2.1. On 29.03.2009, the Appellant - driver, was driving a Hyundai Elantra car in which Captain Kanwaljit Singh, a Cabinet Minister in Punjab, was being driven from Ludhiana.

2.2. At about 5:15 p.m., when the car reached near Village Khanpur, a truck bearing Registration No. HR-55-B-9491 was being driven in a rash and negligent manner, which came from the opposite direction at a very high speed, and rammed into the car. The accident occurred due to the contributory negligence of the driver of another truck bearing Registration No. HR-58-A-9791, which was wrongly parked on the road.

2.3. As a result of the accident, Captain Kanwaljit Singh and the Appellant - driver sustained grievous injuries. Captain Kanwaljit Singh succumbed to his injuries on the same day while undergoing treatment in the hospital. The Appellant - driver survived, but became permanent