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TMI Blog1997 (9) TMI 634X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... permit. At about 9.30 p.M. when the bus was near Renwal, it was noticed that water was flowing over the bridge of Bandi river, due to heavy rains. The passengers travelling in the bus requested the driver not to drive the bus over the bridge because of overflowing water but their request had no effect and the driver, despite the warning by the passengers, drive the bus over the bridge and as a result of flood in the river, the bus was swept away. As a result 23 passengers travelling in the ill fated bus died due to the accident. The legal representatives/heirs of the 23 passengers who had died as a result of the accident, filed separate claim petitions under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the 1939 Act) claiming compensation from the RSRTC and the insurance company. The claim petitions were resisted and the RSRTC in its written statement denied its liability on the ground that though it had hired the bus in question from Shri Sanjay Kumar and the bus was playing on the route specified by it, the driver of the bus, Gopal, due to whose negligence and rashness the accident had taken place, was not an employee of the RSTRC but of the bus ow ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ht of the terms of the policy of insurance and relevant provisions of the Act, the liability of the insurance company was limited, in respect of the accident, to a total amount of ₹ 75,000/- only Insofar as issue No.3 is concerned, the Tribunal noticed condition No.15 of the contract of hire executed between the RSRTC and the owner Shri Sanjay Kumar and joined that the same was against public policy and therefore could not discharge the RSRTC from its liability. It was noticed that the bus was plying on the route specified by the RSRTC and the passengers had paid their fares to the conductor who was admittedly an employee of RSRTC, and as such the RSRTC could not escape from its liability. Accordingly, issue No.3 was also decided in favour of the claim petitioners and the RSRTC was held liable to pay compensation to the claimants. On issue No.4 the Tribunal found that claim petitions were filed within time, after condoning the delay which had been properly explained. Issue No.5 was also decided in favour of the claim petitioners and different amounts were awarded in each of the claim petitions by a composite award while granting relief under issue No.6. Aggrieved, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e bar by learned counsel for the appellant and for what follows we are not able to appellant and for what follows we are not able to persuade ourselves to agree with him and take a view different than the one taken by the Tribunal and the High Court. Let us first look at some of the relevant statutory provisions. Section 2-c(3) defines contract carriage : Sec.2 - C (3) contract carriage means a motor vehicle which carries a passenger or passengers for hire or reward under a contract expressed or implied for the use of the vehicle s a whole at or for a, (fixed or agreed rate or sum- (i) on a time basis whether or not with reference to any route or distance or (ii) from one point to another, and in either case without stopping to pick up). or set down along the line of route passengers not included in the contract, and includes a motor cab notwithstanding that the passengers may pay separate fares; ............ Section 2(9) defines an owner in the following terms:- Sec.2(9) - owner means, where the person in possession of a motor vehicle is a minor, the guardian of such minor, and in relation to a motor vehicle which is the subject of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it. It is also an admitted position that the conductor of the bus was an employee of the RSRTC and that passengers were being carried in that bus on paying the prescribed fare to the bus conductor, an employee of the RSRTC. The fares paid by the passengers were received by the conductor for and on behalf of the RSRTC. The bus was given on hire to RSRTC along with the driver, who, however, was to ply the bus under the instructions of RSRTC. That an agreement had been executed between RSRTC and the bus owner. Shri Sanjay Kumar, incorporating various conditions of contract. Conditions 4 to 7 and 15 of the agreement executed between the RSRTC and the owner read: 4. The corporation shall appoint the conductor for the operation of the bus given on contract by the second party and the conductor of the corporation shall do the work of issuing tickets to the passengers, to receive the fare, to all the passengers to get in and get out of the bus, to help the passengers to load and unload their goods, to stop the bus at the stops fixed by the Corporation and to operate the bus according to time table. 5. The tickets, way-bills and other stationery shall be supplied by the Corporatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s and command the driver was to ply or not to ply the ill fated bus on the fateful day. The passengers were being carried by RSRTC on receiving fare from them. Shri Sanjay Kumar was therefore not concerned with the passengers travelling in that bus on the particular route on payment of are to RSRTC. Driver of the bus, even though an employee of the owner, was at the relevant time performing his duties under the order and command of the conductor of RSRTC for operation of the bus. So far as the passengers of the ill fated bus are concerned, their privity of contract was only with the RSRTC to whom they had paid the fare for travelling in that bus and their safety therefore became the responsibility of the RSRTC while travelling in the bus. They had no privity of contract with Shri Sanjay Kumar, the owner of the bus at all. Had it been a case only of transfer of services of the driver and not of transfer of control of the driver from the owner to RSRTc, the matter may have been some what different. But on facts in this case and in view of conditions 4 to 7 of the agreement (supra), the RSRTC must be held to be vicariously liable for the tort committed by the driver while plying th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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