MANJUSHA Vs. UNITED INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The question arising in this appeal is as to whether the family of the brother of the owner of the vehicle, who died in the accident when the tyre of the car he was driving burst, is entitled to claim compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 [For brevity 'the MV Act']. It is trite that the insurer has no statutory liability to cover the risk of the owner, or as in this case the driver of the vehicle, who steps into the shoes of the owner, when the statutory liability is restricted to third party liabilities.

(3.) In the present case the claimants, who are the widow, minor children and the parents of the deceased, approached the Tribunal, which granted an amount of Rs.25,82,000.00 based on the income of the deceased and the amounts, incurred for transportation, loss of consortium as also travelling and funeral expenses. The insurance company filed an appeal essentially on the ground that there was negligence on the part of the driver, thus absolving the insurer from the liability to indemnify, since the driver, who steps into the shoes of the owner, is the tortfeasor. The High Court looked into the policy and found no case for imposing a statutory liability but found the comprehensive policy with additional premium, to cover only a liability to the extent of Rs.2,00,000.00 as against any injury/death caused to the owner/driver. The High Court reduced the liability to Rs.2,00,000.00.