'55 per Cent of the Vehicles, as per a Survey, Are Uninsured': SC Told

The General Insurance Council informed a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan that 55 per cent of the vehicles as per the survey are uninsured. The information was given to the Supreme Court while it was hearing an application seeking modification of its August 10, 2017 order.

New Delhi:The General Insurance Council on Monday informed the Supreme Court that 55 per cent of the vehicles, as per a survey, are uninsured meaning, as a result if they meet with an accident, the victim would not get the compensation.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the General Insurance Council, submitted before a bench comprising Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan that as per sections 146 and 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it was compulsory to have a third-party insurance. Mehta said that in August 2017, the apex court had said that unless there was a pollution under control (PUC) certificate, third-party insurance will not be given by insurance companies.

Section 146 deals with the necessity for insurance against third-party risk, and section 147 pertains to requirements of policies and limits of liability.

"What happens is, for want of PUC, 55 per cent vehicles as per our survey are uninsured……55 per cent of the vehicles, as per the survey conducted by the government of India, are uninsured meaning thereby if they meet with an accident, the victim does not get the compensation," said Mehta.

He stressed that the strictest possible norms should be put in, for example, if the vehicle does not have PUC, don't give petrol. The bench said if so, many vehicles remain without third-party insurance, in case of an accident, there is a serious problem.

Mehta said the owner of a vehicle may not have the money to pay even if the suit is decreed but if there is an insurance company, it will be bound.

The bench said prima facie a balance would be required for ensuring that vehicles remain compliant with PUC norms and also have third-party insurance.

Against the backdrop of August 2017 direction, the bench noted Mehta's contention that a large number of vehicles are not taking third-party insurance.

The top court allowed Mehta and the amicus curiae to come out with a solution so that appropriate modification can be made to the August 2017 order and scheduled the matter for further hearing in July.

The Supreme Court was hearing an application seeking modification of its August 10, 2017 order, which said companies will not insure a vehicle unless it has a valid PUC certificate on the date of renewal of the insurance policy.