Bengaluru: Karnataka high court has ruled that an insurance company cannot be asked to pay compensation first and recover it later from a vehicle owner in every motor accident case involving a policy violation. The court said the ‘pay and recover’ principle cannot be applied in the same way to accidents within a family as it is in claims by third-party victims.The ruling came in a case from Hassan district involving a fatal motorcycle accident.On Sept 28, 2019, Manjula, a resident of Halebid in Belur taluk, was riding pillion on a motorcycle driven by her husband, Manjunatha. The motorcycle allegedly went out of control because of his rash and negligent riding, and Manjula died of severe head injuries. Their children, Pavan and Pavithra, approached the motor accident claims tribunal in Bengaluru seeking compensation from Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd, which had insured the motorcycle.In April 2023, the tribunal awarded the children Rs 25.5 lakh as compensation with 6% annual interest. However, it held that the insurer was not liable because Manjunatha, who owned and rode the motorcycle, did not have a valid driver’s licence at the time of the accident, violating the insurance policy. The tribunal directed him to pay the compensation.The children challenged the order before the high court, seeking higher compensation and asking the court to direct the insurer to pay the amount first and recover it later from their father.Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar rejected the plea. The court noted that the person responsible for the accident was the claimants’ father, who also owned the insured vehicle. As he had breached the policy by riding without a valid licence, the insurer could not be directed to pay the compensation first and recover it later from him, the judge ruled.
