Compensation — Deceased persons were gratuitous passengers — Insurance company not liable; Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.

The controversy in the appeals, was as to whether the persons travelling in the truck were gratuitous passengers or sitting in the truck in their capacity as owners of the goods being carried in the truck, in terms section 147(1)(b)(i) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

The High Court observed that a bare perusal of final report would show deceased Vijay Kumar Agrawal and Suresh Shah along with other deceased/injured persons were travelling in the truck in question as gratuitous passengers and not in their capacity as owners of the goods being carried in the vehicle.

The Act does not contemplate that a goods carriage shall carry a large number of persons with a small percentage of goods as considerably the insurance policy covers the death or injuries either of the owner of the goods or his authorised representative. Further, the owner of the goods means only the person who travels in the cabin of the vehicle and travelling with the goods itself does not entitle anyone to protection u/s.147 of the Act.

The Supreme Court in the case of National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Cholleti Bharatamma and Others, (2008) 1 SCC 423, AIR 2008 SC 484, held as under:

“It is now well settled that the owner of the goods means only the person who travels in the cabin of the vehicle.”

By applying the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case referred hereinabove, the Court held that deceased Vijay Kumar Agrawal and Suresh Shah were travelling in truck as gratuitous passengers and not as owners of the goods being carried in the truck. Thus statutory liability of the insurance policy cannot be extended to cover the risk of gratuitous passengers sitting in the goods carriage vehicle.