IMPORTANT POINT
Claimants must prove negligence under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act; failure to provide credible evidence results in dismissal of the claim.

JUDGMENT :

(Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, J.)

1. This appeal filed by the appellant(s) under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, against the award dated 07.08.2015 passed by the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bhanupratappur, District-North Bastar Kanker, Chhattisgarh in Claim Case No. 18/2014 (“Smt. Satyeshwari Komre & Ors. vs. Smt. Sukali Bai”) (hereinafter referred to as “award in question”) whereby a compensation amount of Rs. 2,46,000/- has been awarded against the appellant(s) and in favour of respondents 1 to 3.

2. Brief facts of the case were that on 07.04.2013 at about 12.00 noon, deceased Mukesh Komre and his conductor were returning in vehicle commander jeep bearing registration No. CG-19-T-0468 (offending vehicle) after dropping the labourers of the forest department at village Manghaur Parali. Then near Eric Buta Road Nala, the offending vehicle lost control and overturned, due to which driver Mukesh Komre got crushed under it and died due to grievous injuries. In Pakhanjoor police station, Merg No. 23/2013 and FIR No. 41/2013 were registered. However, due to the death of the driver, no charge sheet was filed.

3. The legal heirs of deceased Mukesh Kumar, respondents No. 1 to 3, filed a claim for compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act. On which, the Tribunal, after a proper hearing and taking evidence from both parties, passed the award in question holding that the vehicle lost control due to the failure of the brakes of the offending vehicle and the driver Mukesh died due to being crushed under it. It was the vehicle owner's responsibility to take care of the vehicle from time to time. Due to the negligence, the accident occurred due to the failure of brakes and Mukesh died. The offending vehicle was not insured. Therefore, an award was passed in favour of the legal heirs of Mukesh and against the owner of the offending vehicle, appellant Mrs. Sukali Bai. Which has been challenged in this appeal by the legal heirs of appellant Sukali Bai as a result of her death.

4. Learned counsel for the legal heirs of the registered owner of the offending vehicle argues that the claimants had submitted the claim application before the Tribunal under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for which negligence or rashness was required to be proved. The vehicle owner cannot be held responsible in case of an accident caused by the negligence of the driver himself. The claimants have failed to prove that the accident occurred due to brake failure. In such a situation, the award in question passed in favour of the claimants/respondents No. 1 to 3 under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act is against the law and is not maintainable. Therefore, the appeal is liable to be allowed and the award in question is liable to be set aside.

5. Learned counsel for claimants/respondents No. 1 to 3 argue that they have proved on the basis of the merg and first information report lodged in the police station regarding the death of Mukesh and the documents like postmortem report etc. and the statement of eyewitness Naseem Khan that the vehicle went out of control and overturned due to brake failure, in which Mukesh Komre died due to being crushed under the vehicle. Naseem Khan's statement has remained unrebutted. The entire responsibility of taking care of the vehicle lies with the vehicle owner. The vehicle owner has failed to discharge this responsibility. Therefore, the award passed in favour of the claimants is appropriate. The arguments raised by the appellants in the appeal are not acceptable. Therefore, the appeal is liable to be dismissed.

6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the award impugned including the record of the Tribunal.

7. In the case in hand, claimant Smt. Satyeshwari Komre and Naseem Khan from the claimants' side have been examined. They have submitted a copy of the merg report (Ex.P-1) No. 23/2013 registered in Police Station Pakhanjoor, copy of the FIR (Ex.P-2), an applicati