No licence, no ‘pay and recover’ rule in accident cases, says Karnataka high court

Karnataka high court ruled that the 'pay and recover' principle cannot be applied to accidents within a family as it is in third-party claims.

The ruling came in a case from Hassan district where Manjula died in a motorcycle accident on Sept 28, 2019, due to her husband Manjunatha's rash riding.

Manjunatha owned and rode the motorcycle without a valid driver's licence, violating the insurance policy with Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd.

The motor accident claims tribunal in Bengaluru awarded Rs 25.5 lakh compensation with 6% annual interest to the children Pavan and Pavithra in April 2023, but held the insurer not liable.

Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar rejected the children's plea to direct the insurer to pay first and recover from their father, as Manjunatha was the responsible party and breached the policy.