The appellant insurance company appealed against liability for death of a passenger. The High Court dismissed the appeal, holding that evidence proved the deceased was hired labour, thus covered under the policy.
The appeal was dismissed, upholding the insurer's liability.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
FAO No.1592 of 1993
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IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
FAO No.1592 of 1993 Date of Decision. 16.08.2010
The New India Assurance Company Limited, SCO No.36-37, Sector 17A, Chandigrh through its Regional Manager
......Appellant
Versus
Lachmi widow of Sultan Singh and others
......Respondents
Present: Mr. Deepak Suri, Advocate for the appellant.
None for the respondents.
CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN
K. KANNAN J.(ORAL)
FAO No.1592 of 1993 -2-
place. Onlooker or a third party may not have known under what circumstance the deceased and two others were travelling in the vehicle and therefore, if the information found in the FIR is proved to be incorrect but yet another person, who knew the facts joined issues on the same and gave specific evidence that they had all been hired to unload the the goods, that was sufficient justification for the Tribunal to hold that the deceased was a labourer and the policy of insurance would cover to such risk resulting in the death of labourer. The liability cast on the insurer is under such circumstance justified and it would require no intervention in appeal.
3. The appeal is dismissed.
(K. KANNAN) JUDGE August 16, 2010 Pankaj*
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the insurer's denial of liability based on the deceased being a gratuitous passenger is sustainable in view of evidence that the deceased was hired as labour.
Whether the Tribunal's finding that the deceased was a labourer was justified.
The New India Assurance Company Limited
Lachmi widow of Sultan Singh and others
K. Kannan
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
