The owner of a goods vehicle is vicariously liable for the rash and negligent driving of his driver, resulting in the death of a person travelling in the lorry with the permission of the driver and the cleaner, who are the agents of the owner in the course of their employment and under the contract of employment. The Insurance Company is also liable to pay compensation to the deceased's dependents in such a case.

( 1 ) THESE two Civil Miscellaneous Appeals and Cross-objections in civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 187 of 1977 arise out of a common order passed by the District Judge and Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Visakapatnam dated 17-1-1977 allowing the petition filed by the respondents herein awarding a sum of Rs. 20,000-in all towards compensation under Section 100-A of the Motor Vehicles Act. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 187 of 1977 is Sled by the owner of the vehicle which caused the death of the deceased and Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 179 of 1978 is filed by the claimants of the deceased. The Cross-objections in Civil Miscellaneous appeal No. 187 of 1977 are also filed by the claimants of the deceased.

( 2 ) A lorry bearing Registration No. A. P. S. 2521 belongs to the appellant one Suryanarayana. The said lorry was insured with the 7th respondent, the Oriental Fire and General Insurance Company Limited, madras. One late Dorabbai, who was carrying on Timber business went to jayapore in Orissa State to purchase timber. The timber that was purchased was loaded into lorry A. P. S. 2521 for being transported to Peddapuram in east Godavari District. The driver of the lorry was one Peketi Someswara rao an employee of the lorry owner Suryanaiayana. As the goods belong belong to Dorabbai, he was travelling in the lorry along with the load. On 16-6-1974 at about 9-30 P. M. while the lorry was reaching Anakapalli, it dashed against the culvert No. 2/3 and then against a mango tree near the same place, as a result of which Dorabbai died on ths spot. As the deceased was the only bread-winner of the family, his dependants filed O. P. No. 128 of 1974 before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Visakhapatnam oi Rs. 90. 030/. According to the claimants, the deceased was hale and healthy and would have earned a lakh of rupees in his business had he survied. The claimants are six in number. They are bis wife, mother two sons and two daughters.

( 3 ) THE petition was resisted by the appellant-lorry owner contending that he was not aware that the deceased was returning from Jaypore to peddapuram or was travelling in the lorry or that he died in the accident, that the lorry was intended to carry only goods and not passengers, that the driver was not authorised either directly or indirectly to carry any passengers and that if the deceased travelled by the said lorry he must have done it on his volition and at his risk. Since the driver was unauthorised to carry passengers, be (owner) is not vicariously responsible for the act of the driver. He also denied that the lorry was driven rdshly and negligently by the driver Someswara Rao and that the death occured due to rash and negligent act of the driver. He aslo contended that in any event the compensation claimed is bigbly excessive and exaggerated.

( 4 ) THE Insurance Company which was made as 7th respondent also filed a counter on the same lines as that of the lorry owner. It turther contended that since the person who died was unauthorised to travel in the lorry, the Insurance Company is not liable to pay any compensation.

( 5 ) ON the basis of these pleadings, the Tribunal framed two issues namely, whether the accident was due to rash and negligent act on the part of the driver of the vehicle and to what damages the claimants are entitled. In this context it may be also stated that along with Dorabbai whose heirs are the claimants herein, three other persons, who were in the vehicle at that time also died on the spot. We are not concerned with the other three persons because no claim petition has been filed. There are no witnesses to the accident as it happened on a road at about 9. 30 P. M. in the night. The cleaner of the lorry A. P. S. 2521, who was also injured in the same accident gave a report Ex A 7 at Anakapalli Police Station and on the basis of the said report a case under Section 304-A, I P. C. was registered and the F. I R. was marked as Ex. A-8. The statement of th