The insurance company's liability for the death of a passenger in a bus accident is limited to the statutory limit of Rs. 2,000/- per passenger under Section 95(2)(b) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, unless it has covered extra risk beyond the statutory limits.

S.K. Kulshrestha, J.

1. This appeal has been filed by the insurance company under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent against the judgment of the learned single Judge dated 16.4.1987 passed in M.A. No. 323 of 1977 (Krishnachand Gupta v. Chandravati).

2. The respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3, the heirs of the deceased Gaya Prasad, had filed claim under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, for compensation in the sum of Rs. 50,000/- on the ground that Gaya Prasad, a passenger in the said bus of whom the respondent No. 1 was the widow and respondent Nos. 2 and 3 were the children, had received fatal injuries while going from Satna to Simariya as a result of an accident. It was alleged that a truck bearing registration No. MPJ 5422 was coming from the opposite direction but on account of the rashness and negligence of the driver of the bus in which the said Gaya Prasad was travelling, at the last moment, the driver swerved the vehicle resulting in the bus turning turtle. Gaya Prasad was thrown out and he died due to the injuries thus received. The said claim was made against the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 as the owner and driver of the bus respectively and the present appellant as the insurance company which had covered the liability under the policy issued by it.

3. The claim was contested by the appellant on various grounds including that the liability of the insurance company under the policy and the statute, both, was limited to a maximum of Rs. 2,000/- per passenger.

4. After recording the evidence, the learned Tribunal awarded a compensation of Rs. 21,000/- but restricted the recovery thereof to the extent of Rs. 2,000/- against the present appellant in accordance with the provisions of Section 95(2)(b) of the Act at the relevant time. The appeal was filed by the owner and driver of the bus against the said order dated 8.12.1976 of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Satna, in Claim Case No. 33 of 1970 and the learned single Judge of this court by his impugned judgment set aside the direction of the Tribunal restraining the liability of the insurance company to Rs. 2,000/- and the insurance company was directed to indemnify the owner and the driver for the total compensation. It is against this direction that the appellant has preferred this appeal.

5. The only point which falls for our consideration is as to whether the liability of the insurance company in relation to the death of a passenger would be restricted to a sum of Rs. 2,000/- as provided in Section 95(2)(b) of the Act as it stood at the relevant time or that the same would be co-extensive with the liability of the insured. The effect of the statutory restriction of liability contained in Section 95(2)(b) was considered by this court in Tillumal v. Ramkali Devi M.A. No. 11 of 1988, in which by order dated 28.3.1995, it was held that the liability of the insurance company was limited to the extent provided in Section 95(2)(b)(ii) of the Act which as per the provisions prevalent at the date of the accident in the said case, was a sum of Rs. 15,000/-. In para 9 of said judgment, while considering the liability of the insurance company, this court observed as follows:

In the appeal filed by the insurance company, the only contention which has been urged by the learned Counsel for the insurance company is that since the deceased Y.N. Sharma was travelling in the said bus, therefore, the insurance company's liability is limited to the extent as provided under Section 95(2)(b)(ii) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. The contention of the learned Counsel for the insurance company appears to be justified. The liability of the insurance company is limited to the extent of Rs. 15,000/- per passenger. Therefore, to this extent, the learned Counsel for the insurance company is right in contending that the insurance company cannot be saddled with whole liability as its liability is extended to Rs. 15,000 per passenger, whereas the learned Judge has found both, i.e., owner of the bu