No insurance coverage for drunk driving accident: High Court

The Karnataka High Court has urged the Central and State governments to consider amending the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to exclude third-party insurance coverage for accidents caused by drunk drivers. No insurance coverage for drunk driving accident: High Court.

In a recent ruling, Justice Umesh M. Adiga highlighted that Section 149 of the Motor Vehicles Act does not currently list drunk driving as a specific ground for an insurer to avoid its liability.

As a result, insurance companies are often required to pay compensation to accident victims even when the offending driver was under the influence of alcohol. The court observed that this practice could be seen as an injustice to other road users and may inadvertently encourage drunk driving, which it characterized as a “social crime.”

The judgment was delivered while hearing a case where an insurance company challenged an order from a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) that directed it to compensate a claimant injured by a drunk driver.

The court, while ordering the insurance company to pay the compensation to the victim, allowed the company to recover the amount from the vehicle’s owner, thereby holding the owner ultimately responsible for the accident.

The court’s recommendation for an amendment aims to make the driver and/or owner solely responsible for paying compensation in such cases, thus absolving the insurer of liability.

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