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Person driving with fake licence not entitled for insurance cover
New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) The Supreme Court has held that a person found driving with a fake licence is not entitled for any compensation from the insurance company even if the licence has been renewed subsequently.
A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia has directed all the high courts and consumer commissions to decide a batch of petitions afresh keeping in view the law laid down by the apex court in this judgement.
Allowing the appeal of National Insurance Co Ltd, the apex court has laid down, 1) Where orignally the licence was a fake one, renewal cannot cure the inherent fatality 2) In case of third party risks, the insurance has to indemnify the amount and if so advised to recover the same from the insured 3) The decision of this court in Swaran Singh's case (Supra) has no application to cases other then third party risks 4) The concept of purposive interpretation has no application to cases relatable to section 149 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
In all the petitions the common question of law was that all the high courts and the national consumer disputes redressal commissions have relied on the judgement passed in Swaran Singh's case.
The apex court in its judgement had made it clear that section 149 of the Act relates to duty of insurance company to satisfy the judgements and awards against persons insured in respect of the third party risks.
The
apex
court
while
laying
down
directions
for
the
high
courts
and
other
courts
in
the
country
noted,
''
More
often
then
not,
literal
interpretation
of
a
statute
or
a
provision
of
a
statute
results
in
absurdity.
Therefore,
while
interpreting
statutory
provisions
the
courts
should
keep
in
mind
the
objective
or
the
purpose
for
which
the
statute
has
been
enacted.
Justice
Frank
Furter
of
the
US
Supreme
Court
in
an
article
titled
as
'some
reflection',
on
the
reading
of
statute
(47
Columbia
law
reports
527),
observed
that
'legislation
has
an
aim,
it
seeks
to
obviate
some
mischief,
to
supply
inadequacy,
to
effect
a
change
of
policy,
to
formulate
a
plan
of
government.
That
aim,
that
policy
is
not
drawn,
like
Nitrogen
out
of
the
air;
it
is
evidence
in
the
language
of
the
statute
as
read
in
the
light
of
other
external
manifestations
of
purpose.''
UNI
AKS/SC
DKA
KN1806
