Ex. Capt. Gurmit Singh vs Jagat Ram and Others

S.S. Sodhi, J.—Challenged in appeal here is the denial of compensation to the claimant Capt. Gurmit Singh for the injuries sustained by him when the car CH 4059 came from behind and hit into his scooter. This happened on August 20, 1979, at about 8.30 A.M. on the road between Sectors 34 and 35, Chandigarh, No compensation was awarded as it was held that the accident had occurred due to the negligence of the claimant himself. It is this finding that is now assailed in appeal.

The material on record would show that the accident took place near a kutcha path from the road between Sector 34 and 35 to the house of the claimant Capt. Gurmit Singh in Sector 34. The claimant was coming on his scooter from the side of Mohali and it would appear that he had to turn to his right to get on to the kutcha path to proceed to his house. According to the respondents, the accident occurred when the claimant took a turn to get on to the kutcha path in Sector 34, but on turning he noticed a bus coming from the opposite direction and then all of a sudden stopped his scooter. The car that was coming from behind swerved towards its left and happened to touch the hind portion of the scooter as a result of which the claimant fell down and sustained minor injuries. The car driver then took the claimant to the hospital in his car and left him there. There was, thus, no negligence on the part of the car driver.

The claimants version, on the other hand, was that the car came from behind at a very fast speed and hit into his scooter from behind, as a result of which he suffered serious injuries. The accident, he said, had been caused entirely due to the rash and negligent driving of the car driver.

The case of the claimant rests upon the testimony of PW 3 H.C. Kundra, who deposed that the car came from behind at a very fast speed and hit into the scooter of the claimant. Further, it was his statement that the claimant had gone past the kutcha path when the car came and hit into his scooter. It is interesting to note that the suggestion made to this witness was that the accident had occurred when the claimant came from the kutcha path on to the main road. It would be recalled that the version as given in the written statement was to the contrary, namely, that it had occurred when the claimant turned to go on to the kutcha path.

There is next the statement of the claimant himself PW 4 Capt. Gurmit Singh. He came forth with a very natural and straight forward account of the occurrence by deposing that when he reached near his house in Sector 34, he slowed down his scooter and looked into the mirror for the backview and when he saw the car coming from that side, he practically halted the scooter, but the car came and hit into his scooter from behind. He further stated that he was only 3-4 feet from the left berm of the road when this impact took place. Then there are the site-plan Exhibit P.1 and the first information report Exhibit P. 2 relating to this accident. Both these documents provide valuable corroboration to the claimant''s version.

It is pertinent to note that no evidence was led by the respondents in this case. Even the car driver did not care to come into witness-box to narrate his side of the story. This being so, there are clearly no grounds to doubt the claimant''s version. Counsel for the respondents could indeed point to no contradictions or discrepancies to create any doubt therein. It must be taken to stand established, therefore, that the blame for this accident lay entirely with the car driver and the finding on the issue of negligence must consequently be returned in favour of the claimant.

As regards the compensation to be awarded, the evidence on record does not disclose any serious injuries having been suffered by the claimant in this accident. According to PW 5 Dr. D.R. Gulati, Head of the Department of Neuro-Surgery at the Postgraduate Medical Institute, Chandigarh, there was bleeding from the nose and mouth of the claimant and he was restless and nauseated and had also vomitted when he examined him on the day of the accident. His left eye was black and he had three abrasions on his body, one over the right side of his head, the other on his right knee and the third on his back.

According to the claimant, as a result of this accident, he continues to suffer from headaches off and on and has also lost the power of smell. There is, however, no medical evidence to corroborate him with regard to this aspect of the case.

Considering the nature and extent of the injuries as established on record, no exception can be taken to the claim of Rs. 5000/- for compensation as pressed by the counsel for the claimant.

The claimant Capt. Gurmit Singh is hereby awarded a sum of Rs. 5000/- as compensation which he shall be entitled to along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of the application to the date of payment of the amount awarded. The respondents shall be jointly and severally liable for the compensation awarded.

This appeal is accordingly hereby accepted with costs. Counsel''s fee Rs. 300/-.