No third-party insurance cover, no fuel: Supreme Court asks Centre to launch pilot project
The top directed the Centre to evolve a pilot project by which fuel can be refused at petrol pumps to vehicles not having valid insurance cover
Noting that nearly 56 per cent of vehicles on Indian roads lacked a valid insurance, the Supreme Court on Tuesday proposed linking fuel supply with a valid vehicle insurance as part of a pilot project to stop uninsured vehicles from plying.
“It is shocking to learn that nearly 56 per cent of vehicles (16.54 crore of 30.48 crore vehicles) plying on Indian roads remain uninsured… The consequent effect is that the statutory safeguard of victim compensation is often delayed, if not defeated,” a Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said.
The number of road accidents stood at 4,87,705 in 2024; 4,80,583 in 2023; and 4,61,312 in 2022, it said, pointing out the magnitude of the problem.
The Bench flagged the lack of compliance of provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, requiring all vehicles to have a valid insurance policy covering third parties.
The top court directed the Centre to evolve a pilot project by which fuel can be refused at petrol stations to vehicles not having a valid insurance cover. It directed the Centre to implement a pilot project on certain corridors, substituting the process of stopping at toll plazas, with automatic detection of vehicles passing through toll points.
The Bench also “directed that henceforth, third-party insurance for four years for new cars and six years for new two-wheelers will be required. It asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to immediately issue the necessary directions in this regard.
The top court issued these directions while upholding the Telangana High Court’s direction to National Insurance Company to compensate the family of a man who died in a road accident while travelling in an insured vehicle.
Noting that the top court had issued directions mandating the purchase of a third-party insurance for three years for new cars and five years for two-wheelers at the time of purchase/registration of new vehicles in S Rajaseekaran vs Union of India (2018) case, it noted that despite eight years having passed since the said direction, a large number of vehicles remained uninsured.
“While the IRDA and GIC (General Insurance Company) have recommended that this period not be enhanced, we are of the view that it is in the interest of road safety that the period be enhanced by one year,” it said.
The Bench directed the insurance companies to display in easy-to-read format on their websites the benefits of obtaining a comprehensive motor vehicle insurance cover.
