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The HC overruled the judgement of a lower court which had ordered the owner of the school bus to pay compensation to the family of an accident victim because the school bus did not have fitness certificate and permit on the day of accident.
The HC has directed the insurance company to indemnify the school bus owner by paying the entire compensation amount.
”In this case though the insurance policy was in force on the date of accident, the permit and the validity of the fitness certificate had expired,” the court noted. The fitness certificate was obtained after the accident.
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Wali’s wife Banu Begum and children Malan Begum and Moula Husen filed claims for compensation. The insurance company, The New India Assurance Co, claimed that the school bus did not have (a) fitness certificate and its permit was not in force even though the insurance policy was in force.
The II Additional District and Sessions Judge in 2015 accepted the contention of the insurance company. It awarded a compensation of Rs 6,18,000 to the family members of Wali and ordered the owner of the school bus, Dr. Narasimulu Nandini Memorial Education Trust, Raichur, to pay for it.
The Trust approached the High Court with an appeal challenging it. The appeal filed in 2016 was disposed by the division bench of Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar and Justice S Rachaiah recently.
This amount is now to be indemnified by the insurance company to the Trust as per the HC order.