The main legal point established in the judgment is the determination of a person's status as a passenger based on the intention of the driver to offer a lift and the act of boarding or alighting from a vehicle.

M.N. Krishnan, J.

1. This appeal is preferred against the award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Muvattupuzha in OP (MV) 227/03. The claimant was a coolie by profession and according to him while he was attempting to board the tractor due to the negligent driving of the tractor driver he fell down and the back wheel ran over his left foot resulting in sustainment of injuries. The insurance company contended that it is not liable to pay compensation for the reason that he was a passenger in a tractor which is not covered by the policy. The Tribunal accepted the contention of the insurance company and passed an award against the first respondent in the claim petition. It is against that decision the claimant has come in appeal.

2. The learned counsel for the appellant very strongly contends before me that the Tribunal has erred in arriving at the decision that the status of the claimant is that of a passenger and therefore it requires interference.

3. Learned counsel would contend that as per the definition of passenger under the Motor Vehicles Rules it must be only a person who is travelling in a vehicle authorized to carry passengers. So he first contends that he will not be a passenger under the said rules. Secondly he would contend that in the light of the decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court reported in Sanjeeve Gautam v. Surinder Kumar, 2007 ACJ 813 the claimant will not become a passenger but only a third party. In the said decision the Himachal Pradesh High Court held that a person standing on roadside gave signal to driver of truck for lift, driver stopped the truck but gave no consent to the person to mount the truck and while he was in the process of boarding the truck, truck was moved and the person fell down and sustained injuries. In such situation giving the interpretation of various other provisions of the High Court held that the status of that person can only be that of a third party. It is manifestly clear from the relevant decision that the driver never intended to take this person in the tractor as a passenger to reach the destination which that person wanted. But so far as our case is concerned Ext. A1 is the first information statement. As per the statement it is very specifically stated that while the claimant was walking the first respondent in the claim petition stopped the vehicle and offered him a lift. It is further stated while he was boarding the vehicle the driver moved the vehicle as a result of which he fell down and sustained injuries. So here is a case where the driver who was driving the vehicle did have an intention to give a lift to the person and for that purpose he stopped the tractor and in the process of boarding, the person fell down. So it is clear that if this person had successfully boarded the tractor he would have travelled in the tractor and reached the destination. Therefore he shall be only a passenger in the said vehicle. It is in this context we have to refer to the decision of the Apex Court reported in Noorjahan v. Sultan Rajia, 1997 KHC 11 : 1997 ACJ 1 : 1997 (1) KLT 42 : 1997 (1) SCC 6 : AIR 1997 SC 2814. In the said decision the Apex Court very clearly held that a person boarding or alighting from a vehicle will retain the status of the character of a passenger and not otherwise. Learned counsel for the appellant very strongly contends before me that when the passenger is defined under the Motor Vehicles Rules a person who travels in a tractor does not satisfy the ingredients of a passenger as contemplated under the rules and therefore he must be treated only as a third party. Now under such circumstances we may have to understand the ordinary meaning of the word passenger. The passenger is a person other than the driver, pilot or crew, travelling in a vehicle, ship or air craft. Admittedly tractor is a vehicle and the claimant is not a driver. So under ordinary, parlance his status is that of a passenger. Further, the charge sheet in this case would