Conclusive evidence, including medical reports and post-mortem examinations, is necessary to prove the cause of death and injuries in a motor vehicle accident.

S.N.Pathak, J.

1. These three miscellaneous appeals were heard analogous and this judgment governs the three appeals.

2. In a nutshell, the relevant facts are that three Claim Case Nos. 23/8, 22/7 and 21/6 of the 1978/1993 were filed by the descendants of deceased one Satyanand Kumar who died in accident while traveling in bus No. BRC 22 which met with an accident on 11.3.1978 near Kalyanpur Block. The aforesaid bus was carrying passengers from Patna to Darbhanga. It fell into a ditch near Kalyanpur Block and allegedly Satyanand Kumar died and his son and daughter-in-law also received injuries. Three separate claim petitions were filed by descendents of the deceased and the injured persons themselves filed cases. Upon evidence led by all the claimants in all the three claim cases the Tribunal dismissed the claims of the appellants on the ground, inter alia, that it was not proved that Satyanand Kumar died in the accident caused by the aforementioned bus and that his son and daughter-in-law of the deceased received injuries on account of the alleged accident.

3. It was submitted before me by the appellants lawyer that in spite of the fact that owner of the vehicle had admitted the accident in his written statement. Learned Tribunal passed the impugned judgment on the ground that post-mortem was not done and that the injured persons had failed to produce injury reports. So, the impugned judgment passed by the Tribunal was unjustified when the accident was admitted by owner of the vehicle.

4. On perusal of the judgment of the Tribunal passed in all the claim cases, it transpires that the Tribunal held that only relations of the deceased and the injured persons were examined. Some of the witnesses were hearsay because they had seen the injured persons and the deceased in the hospital. Of course, one witness who claimed himself to be an eyewitness failed to give satisfactory explanation regarding proper occasion for him to be present at Kalyanpur Chowk where the alleged accident took place. The learned Tribunal also held that since the post-mortem report of the deceased was not produced and the F.I.R. and fardbayan or any other paper regarding criminal case was not exhibited, it was difficult to come to the conclusion that the deceased died on account of the accident, as alleged. The Tribunal also held that admittedly according to the evidence of the injured persons they were carried to Samastipur Hospital and also to the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital, but none of the doctors of the aforesaid hospitals was examined nor any medical certificate was produced to support the fact that the injured persons were treated in the aforesaid hospitals. Of course, a certificate from a doctor, P.M.C.H., Patna and a prescription were produced but the alleged accident which took place on 11.3.1978 and the certificates were from Patna doctor issued on 2.4.1993. So, Claims Tribunal doubted the genuineness of the certificate. Under these circumstances, claims of the three claim cases were not accepted and dismissed.

5. It was submitted before me that when the accident was not denied, the court had to pass an order of compensation without going into the fact whether there was any negligence on the part of the driver of the vehicle concerned. However, I am of the opinion that it had to be proved by the applicants that Satyanand Kumar, of course, died on account of or from the impact of accident even assuming for the sake of argument that the alleged accident took place. But, it had to be proved by evidence on record that, of course, Satyanand Kumar died from the impact of the accident. Admittedly, Satyanand Kumar was carried to the hospital of Samastipur and the doctor declared him dead the moment he reached there. So, at least the doctors certificate regarding his death or examination of the doctor was necessary to prove that, of course, Satyanand Kumar died from the impact of the accident or on account of the injuries he sustained in the