The Single Bench of the Delhi High Court in the case of Shekhar Nijhawan vs Iffco Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors. consisting of Justice Rekha Palli opined that when the parents of minor children permit him/her to drive a motor vehicle, not only they put the lives of their children in danger but also endanger the life of common citizens.
Brief Facts:
This appeal was filed u/s 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 by the Appellant, owner of the car/offending vehicle, seeking to assail the award dated 26.11.2021 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in MACP No. 5171/2016. Vide the impugned award, the learned Tribunal, while awarding a compensation of Rs.16,32,700/- in favour of the claimants, had granted recovery rights to the insurer.
Contentions of the Appellant:
It was contended that the offending vehicle was being driven by the Appellant’s minor son without his knowledge and permission and therefore, it could not be said that the Appellant had wilfully breached the terms of the insurance policy.
Contentions of the Respondent:
It was contended that the Appellant was aware that his son did not possess a valid driving licence and therefore, the Tribunal had rightly granted recovery rights to the insurer.
Observations of the Court:
The Bench noted that recovery rights were granted in favour of the insurer by the learned Tribunal after considering the fact that the offending vehicle, at the time of the accident, was admittedly being driven by the Appellant’s minor son, who did not possess any driving licence. The learned Tribunal, therefore, concluded that the Appellant, by permitting his minor son to drive the vehicle, acted in breach of the terms of the insurance policy.
Regarding the Appellant’s plea that the learned Tribunal had erred in concluding that he was aware of the insured car being driven by his minor son and it could not be said that there was any wilful or conscious breach of the terms of the insurance policy on his behalf, it noted that this plea had not been taken by the Appellant either before the concerned police authority or the Juvenile Justice Board. Moreover, the Appellant did not lead any independent witness in support of his plea that the car was being driven by his minor son without his knowledge and permission. It opined that:
“In a matter like this, when the parents of minor children permit him/her to drive a motor vehicle, not only do they put the lives of their children in danger but also endanger the life of common citizens…This Court, therefore, cannot condone such an act of the appellant and fasten the liability on the insurance company when it is evident that the terms of the insurance policy were breached by the appellant himself.”
The decision of the Court:
The appeal being meritless was, accordingly, dismissed.
Case Title: Shekhar Nijhawan vs Iffco Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors.
Case No: MAC.APP. 24/2023
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Rekha Palli
Advocate for Appellant: Mr. Navneet Goyal.
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