Insurer must satisfy the award first, with liberty to recover from the insured.

On 26 April 2015, a tractor-trailer was parked unattended with its key inside.

A nine-year-old boy turned the key, causing the vehicle to move; he fell and was fatally run over by a wheel.

His parents brought a claim under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The Tribunal awarded compensation of ₹2,95,000 with 6% annual interest and held the insurer liable.

The insurer appealed, challenging its liability to satisfy the award.

Whether the Tribunal was justified in holding the insurer liable to pay compensation, and whether the insurer could recover the amount from the insured in the circumstances of the accident.

The claim was brought under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The insurer relied on Section 150(2)(ii) of the Act in disputing its liability.

Applying United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Rakesh Kumar Arora & Ors., reported in 2008 (13) SCC 298, the Court held that in similar circumstances the insurer would be entitled to reimbursement from the insured.

The Court treated the involvement of the insured tractor-trailer and the boy’s death as undisputed.

It noted that the vehicle had been left unattended with its key inside and that the boy’s act had caused it to move.

Relying on Rakesh Kumar Arora, the Court concluded that the insurer should satisfy the claimants’ award but could recover the amount from the insured.

It therefore modified the Tribunal’s award as to recovery, rather than relieving the insurer of its obligation to pay the claimants.

The insurer was directed to pay the full compensation to the claimants first, with liberty to recover it from the insured without separate proceedings.

The amount deposited was to be transmitted to the Tribunal for disbursal.