No Insurance, No Fuel? SC Pushes Pilot Plan After Finding 56% of Vehicles Uninsured

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to prepare a pilot project under which vehicles without valid third party insurance may not get fuel at petrol pumps. The court said the move could help improve road safety and ensure that vehicle owners follow the law.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra said it was alarming that around 56 per cent of vehicles on Indian roads are uninsured. According to the court, 16.54 crore of the country's 30.48 crore registered vehicles do not have mandatory third party insurance, leaving many road accident victims without quick compensation.

The court directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to work on the pilot project. It noted that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has, in principle, not opposed the proposal. Under the plan, uninsured vehicles could be denied fuel until valid insurance is purchased.

The bench also ordered the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems will help identify uninsured vehicles and issue e-challans automatically. State cameras linked to the VAHAN database and the Insurance Information Bureau. These police have also been asked to use handheld devices or mobile apps for real time insurance checks.

In another key direction, the court increased the mandatory long term third party insurance period for new vehicles. Buyers of new cars will now have to purchase four years of third party insurance instead of three, while new two wheelers will require six years instead of five. IRDAI has been told to issue the necessary directions.

The court also asked the government to test barrier free toll collection on selected highway corridors using ANPR cameras to reduce long queues at toll plazas. It said these measures are aimed at better enforcement, smoother traffic and faster compensation for accident victims.