Supreme Court rules against compensation for rash driving deaths

India Jul 03, 2025

The Supreme Court has decided that if someone dies in a road accident because of their own reckless driving, their family can't claim compensation from the insurance company.
This came up in the case of N S Ravisha, who died in 2014 while reportedly speeding.
His family had asked for ₹80 lakh, saying they lost their main source of income.

Courts agreed on no payout for this reason

Both the lower courts and now the Supreme Court agreed that since Ravisha's own negligence caused the crash, insurance doesn't have to pay out.
The judges explained that insurance is meant to protect against unexpected events—not accidents someone causes themselves by breaking rules.
In short: you can't expect compensation if you were at fault behind the wheel.