No insurance cover for person sharing driver’s seat

The Kerala High Court has held that persons sharing driver’s seats in autorickshaws are not covered under the insurance policy of the vehicle.

The court observed that the insurance company was not liable to pay any compensation when a person travelling in an autorickshaw in the driver’s seat was injured. In fact, the liability was upon the owner of the vehicle.

The court observed that no person, whether a passenger or an owner of the vehicle, was supposed to share the seat of the driver and any such action was a violation of the vehicle insurance policy conditions.

The court said that in a three-wheeler goods carriage, the driver could not have allowed anybody else to share his seat.

Justice A. Badharudeen passed the verdict while allowing a petition filed by a private insurance company against the order of a Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal directing the company to pay compensation to a person who was injured while travelling on the driver’s seat.

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