Vinod Trading Company Vs. Union of India (Uoi) and ors. - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
- [ k.h. subba rao,; m. hidayatullah and; r.s. bachawat, jj.] the owner of a vehicle entrusted it to a for plying as a taxi. a drove the taxi, collected the fares, met the expenditure and handed the balance with accounts to the owner. b who used to clean the taxi was either employed by the owner or on his behalf by a. presumably because a wanted another to assist him in driving the taxi he trained b to drive the vehicle and took b for obtaining a licensed for driving. while taking the test b caused bodily injury to the respondent. at the time of the accident, a was not present in the vehicle. on the question whether the owner was liable, held: (per hidayatullah and bachawatt, jj.) the owner was not liable. there is a presumption that a vehicle is driven on the master's business and by.....1. special leave granted.2. on hearing counsel on either side, it is not possible for us to sustain the order of the high court dismissing the petition 'in limini'. since the questions which are involved in this petition are also pending in several other matters in the high court, this petition is also directed to be heard on merits along with those petitions. in the meantime, the guarantee furnished persuant to the orders of this court will continue to operate till the disposal of the petition by the high court.