Supreme Court extends third-party insurance cover of new vehicles by a year

The Supreme Court proposed strict rules for vehicle owners over motor vehicle insurance laws. The apex court asked the Central government to prepare a pilot project under which petrol pumps would not provide fuels to vehicles that do not have valid third party insurance.

The court also suggested using advanced technology as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to detect uninsured vehicles and improve road safety. This comes while hearing a motor accident compensation case with the court stressing that millions of vehicles keep operating on roads without mandatory insurance.

The court bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra directed the Centre, along with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to prepare a pilot project linking fuel sales to a vehicle's insurance status.