The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Insurance Company must prove the breach of specified conditions of the policy, and such breach must be fundamental and contribute to the cause of the accident to avoid liability.

Hetnant Gupta, J.

1. The claimants are in appeal aggrieved against the award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal), in respect of the claim application filed by the appellants arising out of motor vehicular accident.

2. On 10.7.1993, Surinder Kumar Joshi deceased was travelling on Maruti Van No.CHB-7279 from Chandigarh to Barnala. As per the case set up by the claimants, the vehicle was being driven by Joginder Singh, respondent No. 1 at a high speed on a rainy day. Suddenly, the driver applied brakes on account of which the vehicle slipped and fell into ditches on road side and colluded with a tree. Such accident resulted into injuries to Surinder Kumar Joshi. He succumbed to injuries later on. The claimant alleged that the accident has been caused by rash and negligent driving of maruti van by Joginder Singh. The deceased was 46 years of age at the time of accident and was employed as General Manager (Sales) in Paper Division of Varinder Agro Chemical Ltd. at a monthly salary of Rs. 17,000/-. The legal representatives of deceased Surinder Singh Joshi sought compensation by filing a claim petition before the Tribunal.

3. Joginder Singh, respondent No. 1 admitted that Surinder Kumar Joshi was travelling in the van but he denied that the accident was caused by rash and negligent driving by him. Bharat Singh, the owner of van also filed a written statement on the similar lines. The Insurance Company contested the claim petition inter-alia on the ground that in the claim application filed by Bharat Singh, the driver of the vehicle was Ranbir Singh son of Bharat Singh and that it is nowhere alleged that Joginder Singh son of Bal Krishan was driving the Maruti Van at the time of the accident. It also pleaded that the owner in connivance with the claimants was playing fraud. The driver of the van was not having a valid driving licence and that the claimants have filed the claim application in connivance with respondent No. 1 and 2 to extract easy money from the Insurance Company. It also denied that the deceased was travelling in the aforesaid Maruti Van or that the said van met with an accident or that Surinder Kumar Joshi sustained any injury in the alleged accident. It also stated that the Maruti Van at the time of alleged accident was used as a taxi which was against the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

4. In support of the respective contentions raised by the parties, the claimants examined Rosy Joshi wife of late Shri Surinder Kumar Joshi as PW1 and she inter alia deposed that the personal car of Surinder Kumar Joshi was out of order on that day and therefore, he borrowed the Maruti Van of Bharat Singh. In cross examination, she denied that no rental or hire of the Maruti Van was to be paid. The claimants also examined Mukesh Ahluwalia as PW4 who produced not only carbon copy of the Post Mortem Report but also a copy of Daily Diary Report as Ex.P7 lodged by Joginder Singh respondent.

5. On the other hand, the respondent Company examined Harinderdeep Singh, Senior Assistant New India Insurance Company, Chandigarh as RW1. Learned Tribunal on the basis of the contents of the Dairy, Diary Report Ex.P7 held that the Maruti Van was being driven as a taxi. Therefore, it was being used for hire or reward and thus the Insurance Company is not liable to pay the compensation. Relevant finding of the Tribu- nal reads as under:

"18. This brings me to determine the liability of the Insurance Company. As noted above, Shri Mukesh Ahluwalia PW4 has himself proved the DDR No. 5 dated 10.7.1993 which Shri Joginder Singh respondent No. 1 lodged at Police Station, Banur. It is clearly stated in his document that Shri Surinder Kumar Joshi had hired the van in which he was proceeding from Chandigarh to Barnala. This is a document relied by the claimants themselves. Therefore, they cannot budge out of it. If that be so, then it is proved to the hilt that Shri Surinder K