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Contributory negligence cannot be assumed from mere non production of driving license

In Sri Dinesh Kumar J. @ Dinesh J. Vs. National Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors, the appellant while driving a motor cycle met with an accident and was severely injured. However, the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal put his disability at 10% and also held him guilty of contributory negligence to the extent of 40%. On appeal, the High Court enhanced the compensation but agreed with the tribunal so to the contributory negligence. So the appellant took the matter to high court arguing that the tribunal as well as the High Court proceeded on the erroneous premise that since the appellant had failed to produce the driving licence, an adverse inference on the aspect of contributory negligence would have to be drawn. Moreover, it was submitted that the entire discussion on contributory negligence is conjectural and is not worthy of acceptance.

The Supreme Court found itself in agreement with the submission which has been urged on behalf of the appellant that plea of contributory negligence was accepted purely on the basis of conjecture and without any evidence. Once the finding that there was contributory negligence on the part of the appellant is held to be without any basis, the second aspect which weighed both with the tribunal and the High Court, that the appellant had not produced the driving licence, would be of no relevance.

Agreeing to the judgement of the Supreme Court in Sudhir Kumar Rana v Surinder Singh, the court said, If a person drives a vehicle without a licence, he commits an offence. The same, by itself, in our opinion, may not lead to a finding of negligence as regards the accident. It has been held by the courts below that it was the driver of the mini truck who was driving rashly and negligently. It is one thing to say that the appellant was not possessing any licence but no finding of fact has been arrived at that he was driving the two-wheeler rashly and negligently. If he was not driving rashly and negligently which contributed to the accident, we fail to see as to how, only because he was not having a licence, he would be held to be guilty of contributory negligence. The matter might have been different if by reason of his rash and negligent driving, the accident had taken place.

The Supreme Court was of the view that the deduction of forty per cent which was made on the ground of contributory negligence is without any basis. Accordingly, we direct that the appellant shall be entitled to an additional amount of Rs 4.60 lakhs which was wrongly disallowed.

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