Court Ruling: Mediclaim and Motor Vehicles Act Clarified

The Bombay High Court ruled that compensation under a mediclaim policy cannot be deducted from the medical expenses compensation awarded to claimants under the Motor Vehicles Act. This decision was made by a full bench, following discrepancies in previous judgements, emphasizing the contractual nature of mediclaim benefits.

In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court declared that sums received from a mediclaim policy cannot be subtracted from compensation payments due under the Motor Vehicles Act. This full bench ruling addressed differences in past interpretations of similar cases.

Justices A S Chandurkar, Milind Jadhav, and Gauri Godse emphasized the contractual nature of mediclaim policies, noting that such benefits result from the claimant's agreement with the insurer, rather than from tort claims.

The decision underscores the importance of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal's duty to provide fair compensation, stressing that insurers should not benefit at the claimant's expense. Advocate Gautam Ankhad, serving as amicus curiae, highlighted this in his arguments.

(With inputs from agencies.)