Supreme Court of India · 2004-01-06
M/S. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. vs BALJIT KAUR .
- Citation / case number
- SC 2001/16166
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Petitioner
- M/S. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD.
- Respondent
- BALJIT KAUR .
- Author
- ,V. N. KHARE,S.B. SINHA,AR. LAKSHMANAN.
- Bench
- CJI.,V. N. KHARE,S.B. SINHA,DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN.
Judgment text excerpt
The Supreme Court held that under Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the insurance policy for a goods vehicle does not cover gratuitous passengers. The Court overruled the precedent set in New India Assurance Co. v. Satpal Singh, clarifying that the term 'any person' in Section 147 is limited to third-party risks and does not extend to passengers in goods vehicles. Consequently, the insurer was not liable to pay compensation for the death of a gratuitous passenger, affirming the decisions in New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Asha Rani and Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Devireddy Konda Reddy.