IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. versus GEETA DEVI AND OTHERS

Citation: [2023] 14 S.C.R. 62 · Decided: 30-10-2023 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: C.T. RAVIKUMAR · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2023] 14 S.C.R. 62 : 2023 INSC 954
62
CASE DETAILS
IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD.
v. 
GEETA DEVI AND OTHERS
(Special Leave Petition (C) No. 19992 of 2023)
OCTOBER 30, 2023
[C.T. RAVIKUMAR AND SANJAY KUMAR, JJ.]
HEADNOTES
Issue for consideration: After motor vehicle accident, it came to 
light that the driver of the vehicle had fake driving licence. The High Court 
opined that the petitioner-insurance company had neither pleaded nor proved 
that the deceased vehicle owner did not take adequate steps to verify the 
genuineness of the driving licence and in the absence of such a plea on its 
part, the Tribunal could not have concluded that there was a breach of the 
terms and conditions of the insurance policy. Whether order of the High 
Court justifi ed.
Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 – Tempo Vehicle driven in rash and 
negligent manner hit motorcycle of the victim – Victim died – Dependents 
sought compensation – The Tribunal awarded them compensation and 
found that the driver of the Tempo had a fake driving licence and opined 
that the petitioner-insurance company would not be liable to pay the 
compensation – Tribunal awarded liberty to the petitioner-insurance 
company to recover the same from owners of the Tempo – However, the 
High Court held that the petitioner-insurance company did not have the 
right to recover the compensation from the vehicle owners – Propriety:
Held: The petitioner-insurance company did not raise the plea that the 
owner of the vehicle allowed the said driver to drive the vehicle knowing 
that his licence was fake – Its stand was that the accident had occurred 
due to the negligence of the victim himself – Further, the insurance policy 
did not require the vehicle owner to undertake verifi cation of the driving 
licence of the driver of the vehicle by getting the same confi rmed with the 
RTO – Therefore, the claim of the petitioner-insurance company that it 
63
has the right to recover the compensation from the owners of the vehicle, 
owing to a willful breach of the condition of the insurance policy, viz., to 
ensure that the vehicle was driven by a licenced driver, is without pleading 
and proof – Also, once a seemingly valid driving licence is produced by a 
person employed to drive a vehicle, unless such licence is demonstrably 
fake on the face of it, warranting any sensible employer to make inquiries 
as to its genuineness, or when the period of the licence has already expired, 
or there is some other reason to entertain a genuine doubt as to its validity, 
the burden is upon the insurance company to prove that there was a failure 
on the part of the vehicle owner in carrying out due diligence apropos such 
driving licence before employing that person to drive the vehicle – Presently, 
no evidence has been placed on record whereby an inference could be drawn 
that the deceased vehicle owner ought to have gotten driving licence of the 
said driver verifi ed – Therefore, it was for the petitioner-insurance company 
to prove willful breach on the part of the said vehicle owner – As no such 
exercise was undertaken, the petitioner-insurance company would have no 
right to recover the compensation amount from the present owners of the 
vehicle. [Paras 14 and 15]
LISTS OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES 
Skandia Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Kokilaben Chandravadan and other 
(1987) 2 SCC 654 : [1987] 2 SCR 752; Sohan Lal Passi vs. P. Sesh Reddy 
and others (1996) 5 SCC 21 : [1996] 3 Suppl. SCR 647; National Insurance 
Co. Ltd. vs. Swaran Singh and others (2004) 3 SCC 297: [2004] 1 SCR 180; 
United India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Lehru and others (2003) 3 SCC 338 : 
[2003] 2 SCR 495; Ram Chandra Singh vs. Rajaram and others (2018) 8 
SCC 799 : [2018] 9 SCR 1083 – relied on.
OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED 
ORDER AND APPEARANCES
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Special Leave Petition (C) 
No.19992 of 2023.
From the Judgment and Order dated 11.05.2023 of the High Court of 
Delhi at New Delhi in MACAPP No.914 of 2019.
IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. v. 
GEETA DEVI
64  
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2023] 14 S.C.R.
Appearances:
Shivam Singh, Sahil Bhatia, Gopal Singh, Advs. for the Petitioner.
JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT
ORDER
SANJAY KUMAR, J.
1. IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. seeks to assail the order 
dated 11.05.2023 of the Delhi High Court in MAC. APP. No. 914 of 2019. 
Thereby, the High Court reversed the Award dated 06.07.2018 passed by the 
Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rohi

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