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Absence of permit is statutory breach of policy condition absolving insurer, holds Supreme Court.
The SC was considering an appeal from the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The appeal was filed by the owner of the truck involved in an accident. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) found that the truck was being plied without permit, and held that statutory breach of policy conditions had occurred. Therefore, the insurer was not held liable. The appeal to the HC was also dismissed and thus a special leave petition (SLP) was filed before the SC.
The owner contended that absence of permit was not a fundamental breach which led to the accident. It was also contended that application for permit was filed, and it was during its pendency that the accident had occurred.
Rejecting the contention, the SC held that plying of the transport vehicle in public without permit is a statutory breach and if such a vehicle gets involved in an accident, the insurer will be absolved of liability to pay.
Section 66 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 states that no owner of a motor vehicle shall use the vehicle as a transport vehicle in any public place unless a valid permit is granted by the prescribed authority. Section 66 also lays down certain exceptions to this condition. In this regard, the SC said: “In the case at hand, it is clearly demonstrable from the materials brought on record that the vehicle at the time of the accident did not have a permit…The exceptions that have been carved out under Section 66 of the Act, needless to emphasise, are to be pleaded and proved. The exceptions cannot be taken aid of in the course of an argument to seek absolution from liability. Use of a vehicle in a public place without a permit is a fundamental statutory infraction.”
