Insurance co rejects claim citing expired DL; consumer court cites 30-day grace period for licence renewal, orders payment of Rs 4L to claimant
Dehradun: The state consumer commission has directed Shriram General Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs 4 lakh in compensation to car owner Harvinder Singh, whose insurance claim was initially rejected on the grounds that his driver's licence had expired.
The court accepted Singh's submission that the driver's licence was within the 30-day grace period which is allowed after the date of expiry.
The incident happened on April 8, 2017, near Pavki Devi Road in Rishikesh, where a retaining wall collapsed, causing Singh's car to fall into a gorge. His driver, Jagdish Chauhan, died in the crash.
Singh had insured the car in May 2016, and the policy was active at the time of the accident.
However, the insurer rejected his claim, pointing out that Chauhan's driving licence had expired on March 23, 2017—just over two weeks before the crash.
Singh approached the district consumer commission, which ruled in his favour in Oct 2022. The insurer then challenged the ruling in the state consumer commission.
Singh's counsel argued that Chauhan died within the 30-day grace period allowed under the Motor Vehicles Act for licence renewal.
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The state commission agreed, noting that the grace period serves as a legal precedent in such cases and that the driver would likely have renewed the licence had he survived.
In its June 10 order, the bench—comprising President Kumkum Rani and Member BS Manral—said: "We are convinced with the contention raised by counsel for the respondent because the driver expired in the accident. If the driver was alive, he would have applied for renewal of his driving licence within the prescribed period...
the claim of the complainant was wrongly repudiated."
While upholding the district commission's ruling, the state panel reduced the compensation from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, stating that the earlier amount was on the higher side. The insurer has also been directed to pay 9% annual interest from the date of filing in 2017, along with Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs.
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