The Supreme Court has pulled up general insurance companies for trying to wriggle out of their liability to pay compensation to a third party involved in an accident.
To avoid payment, the court said, these insurance companies are putting forward the defence that during the time of the accident the driver of the motor vehicle was holding a fake licence.
The judgment, delivered by Justice S N Variava and Justice B N Agrawal, stated that it is not possible for the car owner to ascertain the genuineness of the licence produced by the driver.
"We find it rather strange that insurance companies expect owners to enquire with road transport officers all over the country whether the driving licence shown to them is valid or not. Where the owner has satisfied himself that the driver has a licence and is driving competently, there would be no breach of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. The insurance company would not then be absolved of its liability to pay the third parties who suffer by the accident caused by the driver,