With the number of accident cases involving uninsured vehicles increasing, the Supreme Court took a stern action on Thursday by passing an order to auction the uninsured vehicles for compensating the victims. If you haven’t renewed your vehicle insurance, it’s time to do it now. If you meet with an accident and the vehicle is uninsured, in that case your vehicle will be impounded to compensate the victim. The apex court ordered all the states and Union territories to frame a rule wherein uninsured vehicles involving in accidents (fatal or non-fatal) would be auctioned. And, it will be deposited with the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) for compensating the victims.

The order was issued by a bench led by chief justice Dipak Misra to the petition filed by a woman whose husband was killed and son injured in a road accident in Punjab. The petitioner wanted a compensation from the government of Punjab because the vehicle accountable for the accident was uninsured. The body has also directed the chief secretaries of all states to implement the order within 12 week deadline. 2019 Audi E-Tron Electric SUV with $74,800 Price Revealed; Should Elon Musk and Tesla be Worried?

As per the Motor Vehicles Act, it is mandatory for all transport as well as non-transport vehicles needs to carry a third party insurance policy for assuring victims or victim’s family members a compensation in a road accident. However, in several cases, the offending vehicles do not even carry a third-party insurance policy. Thus, the victim or his/her family is left without any compensation.

However, the Government vehicles are exempted from insurance. According to the Section 146 of the Motor Vehicle Act, there is no necessity for insurance against any third party loss if any vehicle is owned by the central government or a state government. However, the respective government is liable to pay for the compensation when a government vehicle is involved in an accident. Muharram 2018 Mumbai Traffic Advisory: Check Route Diversions Listed by Police For Procession Today.

A vehicle involving in an accident without any insurance policy or the policy has expired, then the vehicle will be seized by the state government. The owner will be given a time frame of 3 months to pay the compensation or the loss of the victim / third party.

However, if the owner fails to pay any compensation or the loss, then the vehicle will be auctioned and the same will be used for compensating the loss of the third party. Volkswagen Beetle: The End of an Era! A Short-lived History of Iconic Bug.

The SC passed this order if in case the owner who really cannot pay and if the sole bread earner of the family is the accident victim. The Apex body has also passed this order to ensure that no such vehicles without insurance policy ply on the roads and victim families do not suffer because of uninsured vehicles.

The auction of the vehicle will be carried out by the magistrate having jurisdiction over the area where the accident took place. The court has also ordered that the proceeds will be deposited with the body having jurisdiction in the accident area.

Here’s How You Can Avoid Such Situations?

In order to avoid such circumstance, it is advisable that the vehicle owners should buy comprehensive motor insurance online. Moreover, online policies are issued and renewed immediately.

The online process saves a lot of time as it avoids hassle of waiting for the inspection agency, submission of physical documents etc.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2018 01:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).