I. C. BHATT, S. B. MAJMUDAR, J.

( 1 ) THIS appeal is filed by the original plaintiffs of Civil Suit No. 133 of 1979 on the file of the learned City Civil Court Judge Court No. 6 Ahmedabad. The learned trial Judge has dismissed the plaintiffs suit claiming for the decree of damages to the tulle of Rs. 2 0 0 against the respondent defendant Oil and Natural Gas Commission (hereinafter referred to as the defendant Commission ). The appellants plaintiffs contend that their suit was wrongly dismissed and it deserves to be decreed in toto.

( 2 ) IN order to appreciate the grievance of the appellants who will be referred in the subsequent part of this judgment as plaintiffs and the respondent Commission as the defendant for the sake of convenience it is necessary to note a few relevant facts leading to this litigation. I. Introductory facts:-

( 3 ) THE plaintiffs are the mother four brothers and two sisters of one Mirza Sakhawat Ali Beg since deceased who met with a tragic and accidental death on 28-1-1978 on well No. K 35 owned maintained and managed by the defendant Corporation at its Kalol project in North Gujarat. The said Mirza Sakhawat Ali Beg will hereafter be referred to as the deceased. Plaintiff No. I is herself a widow having lost the father of the deceased her husband Mirza Sultan Ali Beg in 1970. The plaintiffs contended that the deceased met with his tragic death which nipped his career in the loud at the young age of 98 years on account of the gross negligence on the part of the defendant Commission in maintaining the concerned well in a sound and fool proof manner. That the Commission was vicariously liable for the negligence of its employees and for the said tortious liability of the Commission the plaintiffs who are the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased and who claimed also to be the dependants of the deceased were entitled to be given adequate damages as claimed in the suit.

( 4 ) AS to the actual happening of the accident on the fateful day 28 the case of the plaintiffs is that the deceased who was working with the Commission at the relevant time as Assistant Engineer (Production) was entrusted with the work of supervising the working of the wells in Kalol project. On 28-1-1978 in the forenoon the deceased accompanied by production operator Rajeshlal plaintiffs witness No. 2 and two Khalasis or helpers named Babaji Bhuderji Vaghela and Keshaji Jivaji went to the well in question at 11. 50 a. m. They went by an ambulance van driven by one Mr. G. K. Sheikh. Accordin to the plaintiffs. on reaching the site. the members of the crew engaged themselves in the work of changing the bean fixed on the concerned well. It is the case of the plaintiffs that on the oil wells maintained by the Commission is fitted at the top with a centrivance which consists of bean housing which includes within itself bean and also a plug which fits the bean housing to the well pipe through which underground oil and gas flow and which are ultimately carried through downtap pipe to the storage tanks. On the mouth of the well is fitted a pipe to which at the top is fitted the bean housing equipment. The bean housing is closed by means of cap plug. It is the case of the plaintiffs that on the day of the incident a complaint was received by the office of the Commission that gas coming out of the well K-35 was found to be overproduced meaning thereby. that the bean comprised in the bean housing fitted at the mouth of the well to the well pipe was not working properly. It was pointed out by the learned Advocates representing the parties before us that the bean is a small iron rod through which the gas flowing out through the pipe at the mouth of the well is regulated for its onwards flow towards the storage tan The bean has a hollow pipe of small diameter inside it through which the gas passes onwards. If the diameter of the existing pipe of the bean by constant pressure of gas and wear and tear gets enlarged. the production of the gas as

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