No fuel for uninsured vehicles? SC suggests pilot project
What's the story
The Supreme Court of India has directed the Central government to launch a pilot project that would deny fuel to vehicles without valid third-party insurance. The proposal was made by a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra, who noted that nearly 56% of vehicles on Indian roads are uninsured. The court has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to discuss this proposal further.
Proposal details
Identifying uninsured vehicles
The court believes that denying fuel to uninsured vehicles could help identify those without valid insurance or registration. It also hopes this would encourage vehicle owners to obtain the necessary coverage.
The bench stressed that such projects would ensure compliance with Section 146 of the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) at the ground level, possibly using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras for implementation.
Insurance mandate
Extension of mandatory 3rd-party insurance period
The Supreme Court has also directed an extension of the mandatory third-party insurance period for new vehicles.
In 2018, it had mandated third-party insurance for three years for new cars and five years for new two-wheelers at the time of purchase or registration.
However, the bench observed that despite eight years since this direction was given, a large number of vehicles remain uninsured.
Coverage extension
New durations for insurance
To combat this issue, the court has now directed that third-party insurance be purchased for four years for new cars and six years for new two-wheelers.
The IRDAI has been asked to issue necessary directions in this regard immediately.
The bench described the figure of 16.54 crore uninsured vehicles out of 30.48 crore as "stark," stressing that when uninsured vehicles cause accidents, victims and their families have "no recourse to adequate compensation within a reasonable time period."
Monitoring measures
ANPR cameras and real-time verification
The Supreme Court has also directed the IRDAI and MoRTH to install ANPR cameras in select states, linking them with data from the Insurance Information Bureau and VAHAN portal.
This system would automatically issue e-challans to uninsured vehicles.
The court further directed state police be provided with handheld devices or downloadable apps linked to these databases for real-time verification of vehicle insurance status.