No more rejecting motor claims on technicality of License - Supreme Court

Third party motor insurance is taken to protect the interest of the general public and a road accident victim's right to claim compensation is statutory. The Supreme Court of India has come out with the verdict that an insurance company cannot deny compensation to an accident victim based on the technicality of the license that a driver is holding.

In this particular case a cyclist was fatally knocked by a speeding Mahindra van and the driver fled the scene of accident. The victim's dependents petitioned to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Kanyakumari, who awarded a compensation with interest. The MACT was of the view that the person possessing license to drive a light motor vehicle was entitled to drive a Mahindra maxicab also. However the insurer argued in the High Court who upheld the view that the driver of the Mahindra van was holding only a Light Motor Vehicle license, and that he was not licensed to drive a commercial vehicle.

The Supreme Court however ruled that  the driver may not have been licensed to drive Mahindra Maxi cab but it  is also a light motor vehicle. The Supreme Court ruled that a mere technicality of the license held by the driver of the vehicle involved in fatally knocking down the cyclist does not over ride the statutory right of a third party to recover the amount of compensation from the insurer. The Court further stated that it is up to the insurer to proceed against the insured for recovery of the amount  in the event there has been a violation of any condition of the insurance policy.