In Brief
The wife and son of Narasa Reddy appealed after the High Court overturned a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal's award of Rs. 4,31,000 compensation for his death. The deceased was struck by a negligently driven tractor. The High Court had rejected the tribunal's finding that he was a pedestrian, suggesting instead he was a passenger. The Supreme Court reinstated the tribunal's award, holding that an independent eyewitness's evidence that the victim was walking on the footpath was credible and unrebutted by material evidence, only by an insurance official's bare statement. The defendant-driver's failure to testify or appeal strengthened the claimants' position, and appellate courts cannot overturn factual findings based on mere conjecture.
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