PUNJAB: In the recent matter of National Insurance Company Limited Versus Roopa and others Punjab and Haryana High Court held that if the insurance policy only covers the third party and not the owner then the owner or any other person claiming under him cannot maintain a petition under Section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The bench headed by Justice Pankaj Jain noted that Section 146 of the MVA requires an owner to insure against third-party risk before use of the vehicle. No such mandate is stipulated with respect to the cover of the vehicle owner. However, the insurer and the insured may contract for the expansion of the statutory policy.