What happened: Supreme Court extended third-party insurance tenure and ordered enforcement tools
The Supreme Court extended the mandatory third-party motor insurance coverage for new vehicles by one year. The Supreme Court increased the coverage period for new cars to four years and for new two-wheelers to six years.
The Supreme Court’s reasoning focused on a persistent compliance problem. The Supreme Court noted that, despite the statutory requirement, many vehicles continue to operate without third-party insurance, leaving accident victims and their families to struggle to obtain compensation.
The Supreme Court directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to issue the necessary directions immediately. The Supreme Court also ordered three enforcement-related steps to connect insurance status with vehicle identity and ground-level verification.
Enforcement directions ordered by the Supreme Court include:
- Integration of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (a camera-based system that reads number plates) data with insurance information and vehicle registration data. - Requirement for police personnel to verify real-time insurance status using mobile applications linked to the relevant databases. - A proposal to deny fuel at petrol pumps for vehicles without valid insurance.
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