The Supreme Court on Friday refused to extend its September 1 deadline for new cars and two-wheelers to compulsorily get a third-party insurance cover of a longer time period, PTI reported.
The court had ruled on July 20 that new cars should mandatorily have a third-party insurance cover for three years and new two-wheelers for five years from September 1. It had said the cover should be made compulsory so that victims of road accidents get compensation and had told insurance firms to look at the matter from a “human point of view” instead of a commercial perspective.
A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and S Abdul Nazeer dismissed a petition filed by the General Insurance Council, which had sought an extension of the deadline. The current insurance cover period is one year.
Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae on road safety, told the court that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India had already approved the new insurance cover policy and even issued a circular on this on August 28.
The counsel for General Insurance Council, which is a statutory body under the Insurance Act, 1938, said it needed to study the circular. But Agarwal opposed this plea, saying authorities have already been told to not register vehicles without the new third-party insurance cover.
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