Insurance co must pay even if driver of killer car drunk

Mumbai: A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has held that an insurance company cannot absolve its responsibility of paying insurance if the driver of the offending vehicle is drunk.

The tribunal made the observation while awarding a compensation of around Rs 55 lakh (Rs 15 lakh interest) to the family of 53-year-old police subinspector, Rajaram Desai, who died after a drunk car driver rammed into his bike at Vikhroli (East) in 2014. The driver of the car, Ritesh Modi, a sales executive, was drunk. Desai was riding pillion with another cop who survived the accident.

The tribunal ordered the car owner, Shantilal Shah, and New India Assurance Co. Ltd to pay around Rs 40 lakh under various heads along with an annual interest of 7.5% from 2014-the year the complaint was submitted. Citing judgments of the Supreme Court and high court, the court said the defence of drunken driving by the driver of an offending vehicle is not available to the insurer.

“It can safely infer that even though a copy of the chargesheet along with chemical analysis report is produced on record, it doesn’t mean the insurer is liable to be exonerated from the liability of paying compensation. The insurer has failed to prove the issue that the offending vehicle owner has committed breach of terms and conditions of insurance policy,” the tribunal said.

The complaint was submitted to the tribunal in October 2014 by Desai’s wife and two adult children. His 90-year-old mother, also party to the complaint, died last year. The accident took place on September 1, 2014 at 1.45

The insurer contended the driver was under the influence of liquor and, therefore, terms and conditions of policy had been breached by the car owner. It also blamed the accident on the cop riding the bike. The tribunal refuted the defence am. His family told the tribunal Desai was earning a monthly salary of Rs 40,000 at the time of the accident.

The car owner failed to appear before the tribunal. The insurance company submitted that the driver Modi -was under the influence of liquor and, therefore, terms and conditions of policy had been breached by the car owner. The insurance company also blamed the cop riding the bike for the accident. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal refuted the defence.

Source: Press Reader