Ramakrishnan, J.

1. The insurance company in O.P.(M.V).No.409/04 on the files of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Palakkad, is the appellant herein. Respondents 2 to 9, who are the wife and daughters of deceased Syed Mohammed, filed the claim petition, seeking compensation for the death of their breadwinner, who died in a motor vehicle accident, caused on account of the rash and negligent driving of a vehicle by its driver, owned by the first respondent and insured with the appellant. After considering the evidence on record, the Tribunal found that the accident occurred due to the negligent driving of the vehicle by its driver and awarded a total compensation of Rs.1,79,000/- under various heads as follows :

Head Amount

Loss of dependency 153,600.00

Funeral expenses 3,000.00

Loss of estate 2,500.00

Loss of consortium 10,000.00

Loss of love and affection 10,000.00

Total 179,100.00

A contention was raised by the appellant that the deceased was a gratuitous passenger, carried in a goods vehicle and since no extra premium was collected to cover the risk of the non-fare paying passenger carried in a goods vehicle, they are not liable to indemnify the insured