New Delhi: Rash driving doesn’t pay, whichever way you look at it.
There is the risk of accident, which could turn out to be fatal. And it won’t even fetch insurance claim.
In a stern message, the Supreme Court recently ruled that insurance companies are not liable to pay compensation to families of individuals who are killed as a result of their rash and reckless driving.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan refused to grant compensation of Rs 80 lakh sought by the wife, son and parents of a man who died while driving at high speed, reported PTI.
The Supreme Court upheld Karnataka High Court’s verdict of November 23, 2024, which dismissed the petition filed by legal heirs of the deceased claiming compensation.
“We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment passed by the high court. Hence, the Special Leave Petition is dismissed,” the Supreme Court said in its order on Wednesday.
The accident in question took place way back on June 18, 2014, when N S Ravisha was driving from Mallasandra village in Chikkaballapura district to Arasikere town in Hassan district in Karnataka. His father, sister and their children were travelling in the car.
The court found that Ravisha drove the car in a negligent manner, without following traffic rules, and lost control leading to the vehicle toppling on the road. He succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident.
“the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of the deceased himself and he being self tort-feasor (causing harm to others), the legal heirs cannot claim compensation for his death, otherwise it would amount to a person who committed breach getting compensation for his own wrongs,” the high court held.
