Supreme Court: The Bench comprising of Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta JJ., ordered that no new vehicle would be sold without the mandatory third-party insurance cover.
In the Supreme Court order, the essentials to be noted were that from September 1, all the new four and two wheeler vehicles would have to get 3 and 5 years premium respectively for third-party insurance. Further, the General Insurance Companies and IRDA together should ensure that the legacy insurance data is shared with Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for its integration with Vahaan data. Also, IRDA should ensure that all the general insurers follow its directions dated 01-01-2018 advising them to make available third party insurance cover to all proposers on online channels.
The recommendations of the Supreme Court appointed committee in regard to road safety were accepted by the bench in light of road safety as most vehicle owners don’t renew their cover after the first year, leaving accident victims vulnerable by depriving them of compensation. [S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India, 2018 SCC OnLine SC 736, dated 20-07-2018]