Vehicle involvement key for relief under no-fault basis: Karnataka High Court
Karnataka high court
has ruled that under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, compensation is payable solely based on vehicle involvement in the accident, and not on proof of negligence. The judgment came in favour of two brothers who lost both parents in a road accident 13 years ago.
"Once the vehicle is involved, the insurance firm is bound to pay compensation," Justice Lalitha Kanneganti noted, directing Tata AIG General Insurance Company to pay ₹5 lakh each to H Girish and H Yatish.
The accident occurred on April 1, 2012 near NH-4, Dodderi village, Nelamangala, around 6.15pm. The victims, Gayathri and her husband Huchcha Hanumaiah, were travelling in a Scorpio when it collided with a Maruti Alto car. Both sustained fatal injuries.
The two sons approached the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bengaluru, seeking ₹15 lakh each in compensation, stating they had lost the family's breadwinners. Their father was a police constable and their mother contributed to household income through tailoring.
However, on July 11, 2013, the tribunal rejected their claim, holding that the brothers were financially independent — one working as an assistant professor and the other as a technician with a TV channel — and that there was no evidence of rash driving by the Alto driver. It thus deemed the application as not maintainable.
The high court, on appeal, observed that the tribunal had erred by applying the standard of negligence, which is relevant only under Section 166 of the Act. Justice Kanneganti clarified that Section 163A operates on a no-fault basis. Relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in the New India Assurance Co Ltd versus Urmila Halder case, the high court allowed the appeal and ordered the insurance company to disburse ₹10 lakh in total compensation to the appellants.
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