‘Insurance firm cannot disclaim liability for hijacked vehicle’

New Delhi: An insurance company cannot disown a man who lost his vehicle as a result of hijacking by strangers, as per a Supreme Court verdict issued by the bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta. The truck driver obliged when a few strangers who on a cold wintry night asked for a lift, but stole the truck.

The insurance firm, the Bench held, cannot use the argument that they are not liable for such act which was not covered in the policy. The court observed that it did not constitute a "fundamental breach of policy" in a vehicle insurance agreement.

“The appellant who is the owner, was not at fault. His driver gave a lift to some passengers. Carrying such passengers may be a breach of the policy, but it cannot be said to be such a fundamental breach as to bring the insurance policy to an end and to terminate it,” Justice Gupta, who authored the judgment, held.

The incident happened on December 12, 2014, when the truck driven by Sanjay Kumar on the National Highway near Karnal was stopped by some hitch-hikers seeking a lift to Yamuna Nagar and the driver obliged. After a while, the strangers asked Kumar the driver to stop, overpowered him and made good with the vehicle.

In the lower courts, the insurance company argued against the claims of the vehicle owner Manjeet Singh, saying that he had vilated the terms of the policy by giving a lift to the passengers and as such the company was not liable. But the appeal by the vehicle owner was upheld by the Supreme Court.

“The driver, on a cold wintry night, gave lift to some persons standing on the road. It was a humanitarian gesture. It cannot be said to be such a breach that it nullifies the policy. No doubt, these passengers turned against the driver and stole the truck, but this, the driver could not have foreseen,” the SC bench stated.

It ordered the company to pay Mr. Singh 75% of the insured amount of ₹7.28 lakh, with 9% interest per annum, along with ₹1 lakh in compensation.