Aadhaar Card Not Reliable Proof Of Age In Motor Accident Claims: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that an Aadhaar Card is not a reliable document for determining the age of a claimant in motor accident compensation cases. The Court has further held that mere receipt of the insurance premium does not automatically fasten liability upon the insurer, as the contract of insurance commences from the date and time specified in the insurance policy and not from the date of receipt of the premium.

Justice Sachin Singh Rajput was hearing three connected appeals filed by the owner and driver of a Tata Sumo challenging awards passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal arising out of a road accident in which two persons died and another suffered grievous injuries resulting in amputation of his leg. The owner contended that although the insurance policy showed the period of insurance commencing from 20.04.2019, the premium had already been paid to a person claiming to be the insurer's agent on 19.04.2019 and had been credited to the insurer's account at 4:35 p.m., several hours before the accident occurred at 10:00 p.m. on the same day. It was therefore argued that the insurer was liable to satisfy the awards. The claimants also filed cross-objections seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal.

The Court rejected the contention that the insurer became liable merely because the premium had been credited before the accident. It observed that a contract of insurance comes into existence only upon acceptance of the proposal by the insurer and that the relevant date for commencement of risk is the date and time of issuance of the insurance policy, not the date of proposal or receipt of premium.

“After the policy was issued, it would mean that the offer of the owner was accepted by the insurance company to begin the contract of insurance. Thus, in the opinion of this Court, the contract of insurance only commenced from the date and time of issuance of the insurance policy,” the Court observed.

While considering the claim for enhancement of compensation in the injury case, the Court found that the Tribunal had determined the claimant's age as 68 years solely on the basis of his Aadhaar Card. The Court held that such determination was erroneous and assessed the claimant's age to be between 61 and 65 years on the basis of the other evidence on record.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeals filed by the owner and driver, and partly allowed the claimants' cross-objections by enhancing the compensation awarded in all three claim cases.

Case Title: Gopi Sahni & Anr. v. Ranjit Bhunjia & Anr. [MAC No. 213 of 2022] and connected matters

Click Here To Read/Download Order