Denesan, J.

Does the law require that to avail the benefit of clause (b) (i) of sub-section (1) of Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the owner of the goods or his authorised representative who dies or sustains bodily injury caused by or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place while traveling as passenger in a goods carriage, should be shown to shown to accompany the goods, at the time of the accident? In other words, does the statute require that not only the owner of the goods or his authorised representative but the goods also should be carried simultaneously in the vehicle which gets involved in a motor accident causing death or bodily injury to that passenger?

2. The above issue has come up for consideration in this appeal filed by the 2nd respondent-Insurer in O.P. (MV)No.2484/99 of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Thrissur. It is admitted case that the 1st respondent-claimant was traveling in a goods autorickshaw bearing registration No.KL-8/M 8568 driven by the 2nd respondent, along Choondal Guruvayur public road from south to north on 13-8-1999. The 1st respondent had hired that vehicle for the pu