New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) An insurance company is not liable to pay an accident claim if the licence of the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident was not valid at the time of the incident or was renewed after a substantial gap from the expiry date, the Supreme Court has said.
Relying on the previous judgements of the apex court, a Bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat said the insurance company would have no liability if the licence is not renewed within 30 days of its expiry.
The National Insurance Company had challenged the verdict of the Rajasthan High Court which had rejected its plea for exoneration from the liability to pay a claim on the ground that driver's licence was not valid on the date of accident.
In the instant case, a truck was involved in an accident on June 11, 2004 and the driver's licence was not valid at the time of the incident.
The driver's licence was initially valid for the period from December 15, 1997 to December 14, 2000 and, thereafter, from December 29, 2000 to December 14, 2003. Later, it was again renewed from May 16 2005 to May 15, 2008.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) turned down the insurance firm's plea that since the driving licence was not valid on the date of accident it had no liability.
The MACT was of the view that since the driver's licence was renewed on May 16, 2005 for a further period of three years it cannot be said that during the intervening period the driver was incompetent or disqualified to drive the truck. The High Court had upheld the decision of the MACT.
However, the apex court said in a case where the gap in renewal of licence was substantial, it would be open for the claimant to recover the amount from the owner of the vehicle, who has to take adequate care to see that the driver had an appropriate licence.
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