Insurance Company Liable For Compensation In Accident Involving Commercial Vehicle, Regardless Of Location: Kerala High Court

A motor accident claims appeal was filed by the owner and driver of a JCB, who challenged the decision of a tribunal that had directed him to pay compensation to a person who was injured.

A Bench of Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen held, “The JCB involved in this case is also a commercial vehicle. Since the JCB was engaged for work within the property belonging to the claimant's father and as the vehicle had access to the said property, the insurer cannot contend that it was not a public place and they are not liable to pay the amount, irrespective of the fact whether the accident occurred inside or outside the property. The question whether the accident occurred outside or inside the property has no relevance since JCB, a commercial vehicle, was used for work and it had access to the property.”

Background

The case stemmed from an incident in which the claimant sustained an injury to his leg after being hit by the bucket of a JCB. The claimant had been injured on private property, which belonged to the father of the appellant. Although the tribunal awarded Rs. 66,000 in compensation to the injured claimant, it found that the accident took place in a private place and therefore ruled that the insurance company was not liable for the compensation, as the accident did not occur in a public area.

The appellant, however, challenged the tribunal's decision in the appeal, relying on previous case law to argue that the term "public place" under the Motor Vehicles Act should be interpreted broadly. He pointed to two earlier rulings: Rajan P v. K.J. John (2009) and Parukutty v. K.P. Joseph (2015), which had established that the definition of "public place" should include private places that are accessible to public vehicles.

Finding

The Court clarified that the distinction between private and public places was not material in determining the insurer's liability, as the JCB was engaged in commercial work and had access to the property. As a result, the Court ruled that the insurer could not escape liability by claiming the accident happened in a private space.

Therefore, the Kerala High Court allowed the appeal and overturned the tribunal's decision, directing the insurance company to pay the entire compensation amount that had been awarded by the tribunal to the injured claimant.

Cause Title: Anoop Paul v. M.P. Cherian & Anr., [2025:KER:64899]

Appearance:

Appellant: Advocates Saji Mathew, Avinash K. Krishnan, Denu Joseph

Respondents: Advocates Anil S. Raj, K. Sherin Mohan, Aginov Mathappan, P. Jacob Mathew, Anila Peter, C. Prabitha, K.N. Rajani, Radhika Rajasekharan P., J. Vivek George

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