Smt.Rita Devi & Ors vs New India Assurance Co.Ltd. & Anr on 27 April, 2000
14. Applying the principles laid down in the above cases to
the facts of the case in hand, we find that the deceased, a
driver of the autorickshaw, was dutybound to have
accepted the demand of fare-paying passengers to
transport them to the place of their destination. During the
course of this duty, if the passengers had decided to commit
an act of felony of stealing the autorickshaw and in the
course of achieving the said object of stealing the
autorickshaw, they had to eliminate the driver of the
autorickshaw then it cannot but be said that the death so
caused to the driver of the autorickshaw was an accidental
murder. The stealing of the autorickshaw was the object of
the felony and the murder that was caused in the said
process of stealing the autorickshaw is only incidental to
the act of stealing of the autorickshaw. Therefore, it has to
be said that on the facts and circumstances of this case the
death of the deceased (Dasarath Singh) was caused
accidentally in the process of committing theft of the
autorickshaw.