Report No. 106

5.4. The question of issue of summons.-

In the comment received on the Working Paper from the Controller of Insurance, the point has been raised that the alternative (a) of the Working Paper1 should be preferred, as the police will always issue summons to the owner of the vehicles as registered, and therefore the benefit of insurance should be transferred to the transferee only from the date of registration. The issue of summons at the instance of the police is a matter concerned with criminal proceedings, and can arise only if there is a case of an offence, either under the Criminal Law or under the Motor Vehicles Act.

If a person, after having transferred ownership of the vehicle, still continues to operate the vehicle and is involved in an accident attracting criminal liability, he has himself to blame. In any case, the policy of insurance has nothing to do with his criminal liability, and questions as to its effective date of transfer have therefore no direct relevance to criminal proceedings or investigation into offences. As regards the civil liability to pay compensation for harm caused by an accident, after transfer of ownership and control of the owner, .a person cannot be held liable for an accident caused by the car if he (or his employee) was not driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.

1. Para. 4.1(a), supra.