The beneficiary legislation does not give a licence to carry passengers in a goods vehicle for the simple reason you have an insurance policy to take care of your legal obligations. The owners of the goods vehicle must be careful while carrying the passengers in their vehicles as they are not carrying the gratuitous passengers but are carrying the liability that would fall upon them had there been an unfortunate incident-giving rise to bodily injury to those occupants in your vehicle. This liability is your own and the insurers are not going to oblige you against the policy issued by them. Even the courts are not going to provide you any help in legal battle as the Apex Court in its three judge bench while deciding in Asha Rani Vs New India has held that insurer will not be liable for paying compensation to the owner of goods or his authorised representative on being carried in a goods vehicle when that vehicle meets with an accident and the owner of the goods or his representative dies or suffers any bodily injury. After the amendment in the MV Act wef 14.11.94 insurers have been made liable for owner of goods and representatives of owner of goods but they are not liable for unauthorized and gratuitous passengers in goods carriage.
This view has been ruled again as inevitable conclusion in Oriental Insurance Vs Devi Reddy Konda Reddy and Others. The Apex Court has held once more that gratuitous passengers are not covered in the policy issued to the Goods Vehicle owners. The provisions of the M V Act do not enjoin any statutory liability on the owner of a vehicle to get his vehicle insured for any passenger travelling in a goods carriage and the insurer would have no liability therefore. To carry passengers in it a vehicle had to be a passenger vehicle and a goods vehicle cannot be held a passenger vehicle even if such vehicle is found used on some stray occasions for carrying passengers for hire or reward.
The Act now defines goods carriage as against the old Act that speaks of goods Vehicles. The ‘goods carriage’ defined in the Act means a motor vehicle construed or adapted for use solely for the carriage of goods. This definition is itself indicative that passengers are not to travel in a goods carriage. It shows the intention of the Legislation that a goods vehicle could not carry any passenger. Further more it categorically states that ‘goods carriage’ would mean a vehicle constructed or adapted for use ‘solely for the carriage of goods’. Even the Proviso appended to section 147 states that compulsory coverage in respect of drivers and conductors of public service vehicles and employees carried in a goods vehicle would be limited to the liability under the Workmen Compensation Act. It does not speak of any passengers in a goods carriage. The larger bench of Apex court in Asha Rani’s case has also observed this striking feature and the submission of the bench in the case was that goods carriage couldn’t carry any passenger. Further the provisions of MV Act do not enjoin any statutory liability on the owner of the vehicle to get his vehicle insured for any passenger traveling in a goods vehicle, the insurers would not be liable therefore. An owner of a passenger-carrying vehicle also pays premium for covering the risk of passengers. As the owner of goods carriage need not take out an insurance policy for any passengers this is not a risk transferred to insurers.
Further no sum is payable by the insurers in case the insured uses the vehicle for a purpose not allowed by the permit. If a permit for goods carriage is not meant for the passengers to be carried, and if passengers travel, they travel contrary to the mandate of the statute and thus in view of Section 149(2) no liability could be passed on to the insurance company.
In such a scenario the legal position is very clear and indicative. No gratuitous passengers should be allowed to board the goods carriage for any journey in your goods vehicles. If you mean a business do it in a way you are supposed to do it. Beware human beings are no commodities to be carried in your goods carriage though once they leave their soul or gets grievous hurt while being in your goods carriage they can be a liability much more than you can imagine. Think and decide whether you want to be courteous to carry someone from the way.
Vinay Verma
Good article
ReplyDeletenevins