Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – s.149(2)(a)(ii) – Fatal accident – Insurance claim – Repudiation of claim on the ground that driver did not possess proper driving licence at the time of accident which amounted to breach of conditions under s.149(2)(a) – Plea of insurance company that the driving licence purported to have been issued by the licencing authority, Sheikh Sarai, Delhi could not be verified as the concerned officer of the licencing authority deposed that the record of the licence was not available with them – Held: While hiring a driver, an employer is expected to verify if the driver has a driving licence – If the driver produces a licence which on the face of it looks genuine, the employer is not expected to further investigate into the authenticity of the licence unless there is a cause to believe otherwise – If the employer finds the driver to be competent to drive the vehicle and has satisfied himself that the driver has a driving licence, there would be no breach of s.149(2)(a)(ii) and the Insurance Company would be liable under the policy – It would be unreasonable to place a high onus on the insured to make enquiries with RTOs all over the country to ascertain the veracity of the driving licence – If, however, Insurance Company is able to prove that the owner/insured was aware or had notice that the licence was fake or invalid and still permitted the person to drive, the insurance company would no longer continue to be liable – In the instant case, complainant employed the driver after checking his driving licence – It was not the contention of the Insurance Company that the complainant is guilty of wilful negligence while employing the driver – The driver had been driving competently and there was no reason for the complainant to doubt the veracity of the driver’s licence – Insurance company is liable to indemnify the appellantowner of vehicle. Allowing the appeals, the Court
HELD: 1.1 Breach of conditions under Section 149(2)(a) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 absolves the insurer of its liability to the insured. Section 149(2)(a)(ii) deals with the conditions regarding driving licence. In case the vehicle at the time of accident is driven by a person who is not duly licenced or by a person who has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence during the period of disqualification, the insurer is not liable for compensation. In the instant case it is a matter of fact that no record of the licence bearing no. P03041288753070 was found with the licensing authority. [Para 7][1192-H; 1193-A-B]
1.2 While the insurer can certainly take the defence that the licence of the driver of the car at the time of accident was invalid/fake however the onus of proving that the insured did not take adequate care and caution to verify the genuineness of the licence or was guilty of willful breach of the conditions of the insurance policy or the contract of insurance lies on the insurer. [Para 9][1194-D-E]
National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Swaran Singh & Ors. (2004) 3 SCC 297 : [2004] 1 SCR 180 – relied on. Pepsu RTC v. National Insurance Co. (2013) 10 SCC
217 : [2013] 9 SCR 266 – held inapplicable.
United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Lehru & Ors. (2003)
3 SCC 338 : [2003] 2 SCR 495 – referred to.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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