IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

219 FAO-3838-2012 (O&M)

Date of decision: 10.02.2025 Smt. Santosh Aggarwal & Another ...Appellant(s)

Vs.

Manoj Bhardwaj & Others ...Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE NIDHI GUPTA Present:- Mr. Brea Sandhu, Advocate for Ms. Deepali Puri, Advocate for the appellants.

Mr. Ashwani Talwar, Advocate for the respondents No.2 and 5.

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NIDHI GUPTA, J.

The appellants/claimants are in appeal before this Court against the dismissal of their claim petition bearing No.56 of 2010/2011 filed under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Hisar (hereinafter referred to as “the learned Tribunal”) vide Award dated 01.05.2012. The 2 claimants are the parents of the deceased-Vishal Chaudhary who was 19 years of age at the time of accident.

2. Brief facts of the case as set out by the claimants in the claim petition are that on 20.8.2009, deceased Vishal Chaudhary son of Dawarka Parshad Chaudhary along with Vikas Bhardwaj, Vikas Kaushik and Jitender Verma, were going from Shri Ganga Nagar to Delhi in the alleged offending car bearing registration No. RJ-07-CA/0625 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the alleged offending vehicle’), which was being driven by Vikas Bhardwaj. When the car reached near police station Agroha, on G.T. road at about 1.30 a.m., then the driver of the car Vikas Bhardwaj could not see the truck bearing registration No. HR-61/4491, standing in the middle of the road and he could not control his car and struck the same into the standing truck. At that time the car was being driven by Vikas Bhardwaj at a very high speed and in a rash and negligent manner. This accident took place due to rash and negligent driving of the offending Car no. RJ-07-CA/0625 as well as wrong parking of Truck No. HR-61/4491. In the said accident, all the four occupants of the car died at the spot and their dead bodies were taken to Maharaja Aggarsain Medical College, Agroha, where the post mortem were conducted. Although the accident took place on account of rash and negligent driving of the offending car by its driver Vikas Bhardwaj and the wrong parking of the said truck bearing registration no. HR-61/4491, yet the owner of the offending car i.e. respondent No.1 conspired with the local police and got the investigation of this case closed by the police. The claimant Dwarka Prasad Chaudhary, the father of the deceased Vishal Chaudhary, after recovering from the shock and mental agony, filed a complaint to the Superintendent of police, Hisar on 25.3.2010 for reinvestigation of the matter upon which the present FIR No.95 dated 9.4.2010 was registered against the driver of the offending car. At the time of the accident, the deceased Vishal Chaudhary was in the service of M/s. Shri Ram Tools, Suratgarh Road Shri Ganga Nagar, and was drawing a salary of Rs.5,000/-

per month. Besides that he was also earning Rs.10,000/- per month by doing part time job. In total, he was earning Rs.15,000/- per month. The deceased was having a diploma from IT Shri Ganga Nagar (Rajasthan). The claimants were totally dependent upon the income of the deceased who was unmarried and was contributing his entire income for the welfare of the family. Although no amount of compensation can fill up the lacuna created in the lives of the claimants, yet they have claimed the compensation to the tune of Rs. 60,00,000/-. With these averments the claim petition was filed.

3. Upon consideration of the pleadings, and oral & documentary evidence adduced by the parties, the learned Tribunal found that the claimants had miserably failed to show that either of the drivers was negligent or that the accident had occurred as a result of their negligence; and accordingly dismissed the claim petition of the appellants. 4. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that while dismissing the claim petition of the appellants, the learned Tribunal has ignored the fact that in respect