NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. versus PREMA DEVI & ORS.

Citation: [2008] 3 S.C.R. 646 · Decided: 29-02-2008 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: ARIJIT PASAYAT · Disposal: Case Allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

(2008] 3 S.C.R. 646 
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• .. 
A 
NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. 
v. 
PREMA DEVI & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 1667 of 2008) 
B 
FEBRUARY 29, 2008 
[DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT AND P. SATHASIVAM, JJ.] 
• .._ 
Motor Vehicles Act. 1988 ~Liability to pay compensation 
- For the victim of accident traveling in goods carriage as a 
c gratuitous passenger - No policy taken by the owner of the 
vehicle for covering such passenger - Held: Liability to pay 
the compensation is on the owner of offending vehicle and 
not on the Insurance Company 
New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Vedwati and Ors. 2007 
D (3) SCALE 397 - relied on. 
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CIVILAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1667 
of 2008 
From the final Judgment and Order dated 05.11.2003 of 
E the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, 
Lucknow in FAFO No. 618 of 2003. 
Atul Nanda, Rameeza Hakeem, Rajesh Kumar, Sandeep 
Bajaj and P.N. Puri for the Appellant. 
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F 
A.K. De., V.P. Tripathi, Goodwill lndeevar, K. Sarada Devi 
and Shail Kumar Dwivedi for the Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. 1. Leave granted. 
G 
2. Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by a 
learned Single Judge of the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow 
Bench dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant. 
' 
3. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows: 
H 
646 
NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. L\TD. v. PREMA DEVI & 
647 
ORS. [DR ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.] 
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The accident in the instant case took place on 1.6.1996 . A 
The claimant was travelling in a goods carriage, as a gratuitous 
passenger. Undisputedly she was not traveling in the goods 
carriage in the capacity of owner of goods or representative of 
owner of goods being transported in the goods carriage. This 
aspect was also accepted by the claimant in the claim petition. 
B 
4. Stand of the appellant was that the owner of the goods 
~ 
carriage had not taken any policy for such passenger and there 
,... 
was no requirement under law for obtaining a policy for 
passenger. 
c 
5. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the 
claimant could not claim indemnification by the appellant and 
the owners of the offending vehicles were to indemnify the award. 
6. Learned counsel for the claimant and the owners of the 
offending vehicles supported the order of the High Court. 
D 
" '"' 
7. In New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Vedwati and Ors. 
(2007 (3) SCALE 397), it was held as under: 
"6. This Court had occasion to deal with cases of 
passengers traveling in goods vehicles which met accident E 
resulting in death of such person or bodily injury. Such 
cases belong to three categories i.e. (1) those covered by 
the old Act, (2) those covered by the Act; and (3) those 
... 
.> 
covered by amendment of the Act in 1994 by the Motor 
Vehicles (Amendment) Act. 1994 (hereinafter referred to 
F 
as the 'Amendment Act'). 
7. The present appeals belong to the second category. 
8. In Satpal Singh's case (supra) this Court proceeded on 
. the footing that provisions of Section 95(1) of the old Act G 
are in pari materia with Section 147(1) of the Act as it 
stood prior to the amendment in 1994 . 
.. " 
9. On a closer reading of the expressions "goods vehicle". 
"public service vehicle", '.'state carrier" and "transport 
vehicle" occurring in Sections 2(8), 2(25), 2(29) and 2(33) 
H 
648 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(2008] 3 S.C.R. 
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A 
of the old Act with the corresponding provisions i.e. Section 
' ... 
2(14), 2(35) 2(40) and 2(47) of the Act, it is clear thatthere 
are conceptual differences. The provisions read as follows: 
Old Act: 
B 
"2 (8) "goods vehicle" means any motor vehicle constructed 
or adapted for use for the carriage of goods, or any motor 
vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the 
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carriage of goods solely or in addition to passengers" 
h 
"2(25) "public service vehicle" means any motor vehicle 
c 
used or adapted to be used for the carriage of passengers 
for hire or reward and includes a motor cab contract 
carriage, and stage carriage." 
"2(29) "stage carriage" means a motor vehicle carrying or 
D 
adapted to carry more than six persons excluding the driver 
which carries passengers for hire or reward at separate 
fares paid by or for individual passengers either for the 
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whole journey or for stages of the journey:" 
"2(33) "transport vehicle" means a public service vehicle 
E 
or a goods vehicle:" 
The Act {New Act}: 
"2(14) "goods carriage" any motor vehicle constructed 

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