Insurer liable for injuries caused by thresher attached to insured tractor, Gujarat High Court rules

On 29 October 2001, the claimant, then aged 17, was loading groundnuts into a thresher attached to a tractor. The tractor suddenly started, causing the thresher’s belt to move and crush the claimant’s legs, which were subsequently amputated.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded him Rs. 7,45,000 with interest at 8% per annum, jointly and severally against the tractor’s owner and insurer. The insurer appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, contending that the accident was caused by the thresher, which was not insured under its policy.

Whether the accident involving the claimant arose out of the use of the insured tractor, where the tractor’s movement caused the attached thresher’s belt to move.

Whether the tractor’s insurer could be held liable for the resulting accident despite the thresher not being separately insured or covered under the policy.

Sections 165 and 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act provide for adjudication of claims arising from accidents involving the use of motor vehicles and applications for compensation in such cases.

In Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company v. Smt. Honnamma & Ors., 2025 INSC 625, the Supreme Court held that an insured tractor’s insurer may be liable for an accident caused through an attached trailer where the tractor is the root cause of the accident; separate-insurance principles do not apply where the accident results from the tractor’s movement rather than from the trailer acting independently.

The Court found that the tractor was not merely present at the scene: its sudden movement pulled the attached thresher and set its belt in motion, causing the claimant’s injuries. The tractor and thresher were therefore both in use, and the tractor was the operative cause of the accident.

Applying the reasoning in Royal Sundaram, the Court rejected the insurer’s contention that the absence of separate thresher coverage absolved it from liability, and found no basis to disturb the Tribunal’s award.

The Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount held in fixed deposit or otherwise, together with accrued interest, to the claimant(s) by account-payee cheque or electronic transfer, subject to verification and due procedure.