Registered owner of vehicle can be held liable for accident even if vehicle is transferred by him

The principle underlying the
provisions of Section 2(30) is that the victim of a
motor accident or, in the case of a death, the legal
heirs of the deceased victim should not be left in a
state of uncertainty. A claimant for compensation
ought not to be burdened with following a trail of
successive transfers, which are not registered with the
Registering Authority. To hold otherwise would be to
defeat the salutary object and purpose of the Act.
Hence, the interpretation to be placed must facilitate
the fulfilment of the object of the law. In the present
case, the first respondent was the “owner” of the
vehicle involved in the accident within the meaning
of Section 2(30). The liability to pay compensation
stands fastened upon him. Admittedly, the vehicle was
uninsured. The High Court has proceeded upon a
misconstruction of the judgments of this Court in
Reshma (2015)3 SCC 679 and Purnya Kala Devi
(2014) 14 SCC 142.
14. The submission of the petitioner is that a failure to
intimate the transfer will only result in a fine under
Section 50(3) but will not invalidate the transfer of
the vehicle. In T.V. Jose (2001)8 SCC 748, this Court
observed that there can be transfer of title by payment
of consideration and delivery of the car. But for the
purposes of the Act, the person whose name is
reflected in the records of the Registering Authority is
the owner. The owner within the meaning of Section
2(30) is liable to compensate. The mandate of the law
must be fulfilled.”
9. The law is thus well settled and can be summarised:-

“Even though in law there would be a transfer of
ownership of the vehicle, that, by itself, would not
absolve the party, in whose name the vehicle stands in
RTO records, from liability to a third person … … …
Merely because the vehicle was transferred does not
mean that such registered owner stands absolved of his
liability to a third person. So long as his name
continues in RTO records, he remains liable to a third
person.” 3
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.11369 OF 2018
(Arising out of SLP(Civil)No.27296 of 2018)

PRAKASH CHAND DAGA  Vs SAVETA SHARMA & ORS.

Dated:December 14, 2018.
Uday Umesh Lalit, J.
Citation: AIR 2019 SC 66,(2019) 2 SCC 747