Whether the claim petition can be maintained by the legal heirs of the deceased, who borrowed the vehicle from its owner, for claiming the personal accident cover?

No. Section III of the policy read with IMT-15 provides personal accident cover for the owner-driver who is the registered owner of the insured vehicle and the insured named in the policy, and the compensation is payable only to the insured named in the policy or his or her legal representatives. A borrower of the vehicle is a third party who cannot step into the shoes of the owner; extending the cover to such a third party would go against the very objective of providing personal accident cover.

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — s.166 — Personal accident cover — Owner-cum-driver — Borrower of vehicle — Privity of contract — Maintainability — Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — s.166 — Personal accident cover confined to the insured — Held: A combined reading of the terms of the policy and IMT-15 confines personal accident cover to the insured named in the policy or his or her legal representatives, that is, the registered owner-cum-driver of the insured motor vehicle. (¶22, 24) Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — s.166 — Borrower a third party — No privity of contract — Held further: A borrower of the vehicle is a third party, and authorisation by the owner to use the vehicle creates no entitlement in his legal representatives to personal accident cover; the Insurance Company has no privity of contract with such a third party. (¶27, 28) Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — s.166 — Claim petition not maintainable — Award unsustainable — Held further: Since only the contractual liability applies, a petition under Section 166 cannot be maintained to make such a claim, and an award mulcting that liability on the Insurance Company is unsustainable. Appeal allowed; award set aside. (¶28, 29)

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