[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by SideView

By out of court settlement what i meant is, where I have seen people pay some compensation and the other person withdraws the case if you dont want the hassle of court hearings and what not.

Compensation in case of death is calculated according to how much the deceased person would have been able to contribute to the family, had he/she been alive. So in case a young educated person is the victim, compensation may be anywhere between 50L to 1Cr!! That is not an amount which average people can cough up for an out of court settlement.

But you can never be sure what amount the court may reward the victim.

That is why we all have 3rd party insurance. The insurance company pays for the compensation ordered by the court.

I personally know someone who got into an accident and the other party passed away. Unfortunately, he was driving his car which did not have active insurance! The court awarded some 55L compensation to the victim, which the car owner had to cough up by bselling his house and property!

[sid18]

I sold my car recently on Spinny at a lower price offered than Cars24. The only reason to let go that 15K odd was the assurance I got from Spinny that they would make sure that the transfer happens within 180 days. Cars24 was non-committal and was beating around the bush. My car was sold in September'23 and the transfer of ownership was completed in October. Spinny informed me about the transfer and deposited the 10K that they had held back. I too verified the ownership datils in MParvahan.

Reading this makes me feel that I took the right decision. I can understand the mental agony that the OP is going through.

[androdev]

The Supreme Court held that a registered owner cannot wriggle out of liability towards a third person in event of an accident, on the mere pretext of the ownership of the vehicle being transferred, if he still continues to be the recorded owner as per RTO records.

https://www.tclindia.in/mere-transfe...-third-person/

The Supreme Court noted that in terms of Section 50 of the Act, the transfer of a vehicle ought to be registered within 30 days of the sale. Section 50 further prescribes timelines within which the transferor and the transferee are required to report the factum of transfer. The Court further recorded that these timelines and obligations are only to facilitate the reporting of the transfer. It was further held that it is not as if that if an accident occurs within the period prescribed for reporting said transfer, the transferor is absolved of the liability.

The Supreme Court reiterated that for the purposes of fixing such liability the concept of ownership has to be understood in terms of specific definition of ‘owner’ as defined in Section 2(30) of the Act. The Court concluded that 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.

It's best to speak to a good lawyer and proceed accordingly. Don't do any jugaad out of court settlement. This is an unfortunate incident that should be handled by a lawyer.

Tip for those selling cars: All the RTO forms and affidavits are of little use as long as you are the owner as per RTO records. Owner is always liable. I always ensure the car has a 3rd party insurance in my name as long as the RC card is in my name. One of my cars met with an accident and the insurance company gave me a cash settlement (not total loss) that involves selling off the car to a private garage. The garage owner took his own sweet time to repair the car and eventually sold it to someone. I kept track of the RC status on parivahan portal and bought 3rd party insurance as long as the car was in my name.

[SR-71]

Can you please clarify something, did you use the Hyundai's HPromise to do the transfer or did Trident Hyundai aid you in the sale without going via Hyundai's HPromise. If it's the former, you shouldn't have run into this issue of non-transfer as Hyundai's HPromise business division becomes accountable for this lapse.

BTW dint MORTH issue an amendment in December of 2022 w.r.t to used car sale process. If I recall correctly, the process was aimed at rooting out fly-by-night operators and making it transparent and protecting the intrests of both buyers and sellers. Please find the more information on this in this team-bhp thread on this subject - https://www.team-bhp.com/news/govt-l...ar-bike-market.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

55B. Intimation to the registering authority, about the fact of delivery of vehicle to the authorized dealer of registered vehicles

1. Registered owner of a motor vehicle shall intimate the registering authority, with whom the vehicle is currently registered, the fact of delivery of vehicle to authorized dealer of registered vehicles, through Form 29C, submitted electronically on portal, dually signed by him and authorized dealer of registered vehicles. On successful submission of Form 29 C on the portal, acknowledgement number shall be auto generated through the portal.

2. Registered owner of a motor vehicle shall intimate the registering authority, to whom the intimation under sub rule (1) has been given, the fact of taking back vehicle from authorized dealer of registered vehicles, through Form 29CA, submitted electronically on portal, dually signed by him and authorized dealer of registered vehicles. On successful l submission of Form 29 CA on the portal, acknowledgement number shall be auto generated through the portal.


55C. Power and responsibility of authorized dealer of registered vehicles

1. After submission of Form 29 C, the authorized dealer of registered vehicles shall be deemed the owner of the motor vehicle and shall be solely responsible for all incidents related to such vehicle.

2. Authorized dealer of registered vehicles shall be competent to apply for renewal of registration certificate/ renewal of certificate of fitness, duplicate registration certificate, NOC, transfer of ownership of motor vehicle, in relation to vehicles in his possession through Form 29C.

3. Authorized dealer of registered vehicles shall maintain the record of inventory electronically, in Form 29D on portal.

In any event, consulting a good lawyer is highly recommended.

Originally Posted by androdev

The Supreme Court held that a registered owner cannot wriggle out of liability towards a third person in event of an accident, on the mere pretext of the ownership of the vehicle being transferred, if he still continues to be the recorded owner as per RTO records.

I have always wondered if this is just applicable in direct sale case or sale via some unregistered intermediatory. It's unfair if it's also applicable on sale that happens via registered intermediatory. It renders a purpose of the new amendment worthless.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Compensation in case of death…

Correct! Either way he has to pay(as per the OP the insurance is not active) and cannot absolve himself completely due to the record of ownership.

[Raghu M]

Sir, I am not a legal expert but have been involved in something similar. I was the driver of the car that was in a fatal accident. Since I owned the car, I was the one who took all the legal course and went through every process. Although the car was not transferred from your dad's name, since he was not driving the car, he is mostly not going to be troubled in any way. You need to react only if you get a court's notice. That will only be a procedure but if they have the driver in custody, then your father has nothing to do with it except some basic paper work.

Please hire a lawyer immediately and DO NOT reach out to the deceased's family. They will ask you money in lakhs which you will not be able to negotiate. Your father was not the driver, he was nowhere around the accident spot - that's the alibi you need. Like I mentioned earlier, if the driver of the car at the time of the mishap has been arrested, then the police might have already seized the vehicle. Talk to the police only through your lawyer. Do not just keep visiting the place as and when they call you, they do not have the authority to do so. It should all be done through courts. You have a lot of time to think, respond and action this. I would say, keep calm. Just because the car is still on your father's name doesn't make you both the accused. Marking as A2 is only a formality. Let me know the updates from time to time.

[Amsdoc]

This is a terrible situation and it is unbelievable that this still happens in our country. The only proof that we have of selling our car is a tiny slip of transfer which is not valid in a court. The transfer process shouldn't be the responsibility of the seller. In the UK you just mail the transfer slip to DVLA and it get logged with them which covers you.
I was told of similar horror stories when I sold my bike to a dodgy individual. I was instructed to take him along with me to RTO to get the transfer sorted in my presence but he declined. So I was informed that I should go with him to a lawyer and get an affidavit made that he is legal owner and takes all responsibility from this date etc. This was made on Stamp paper with his signatures and witnesses etc. The lawyer an the civil court who did this for us had the format already saved on his computer and said many people do this and this should clear you of any responsibility whatever he does with the registration. I wasn't sure but I went along. Thankfully didn't need anything.

[praveen789]

This is indeed very scary. I had sold my car to Cars24 few years back and they had told me that the transfer can happen only once they find the buyer which can take 4-6 months. Though the name transfer happened in my case within that time frame, isn't that how it works in all second hand car sale cases? Does it mean that there always is a risk for the seller for that interim period? In case someone is testing the car before buying and a fatality can happen, Cars24 or the intermediary has no risk?

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

How do you expect to settle a pedestrian fatality out of court? Compensation will be in the terms of dozens of lakhs. Do you want the OP to shell out so much for no fault of his?

Fight it out legally. If you get a half decent lawyer, he/she will manage the proceedings in the local court. Will be time consuming, however as long as you have enough documents to prove your innocence, shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Exactly what I felt when the two options were listed. Accepting an out of court settlement might actually end up implying that the original owner caused the accident. How do you legally create a document that demonstrates that the OP's father was not responsible for this without a court order?

[ruskinash]

Originally Posted by praveen789

This is indeed very scary. I had sold my car to Cars24 few years back and they had told me that the transfer can happen only once they find the buyer which can take 4-6 months. Though the name transfer happened in my case within that time frame, isn't that how it works in all second hand car sale cases? Does it mean that there always is a risk for the seller for that interim period? In case someone is testing the car before buying and a fatality can happen, Cars24 or the intermediary has no risk?

Based on my understanding of the matter, you will continue to be the legal owner of the vehicle until the Registration Certificate (RC) is transferred to the new owner and the same is updated in the records maintained by Parivahan.

I came across a case on this forum several years ago, where a similar incident had occurred. As per the court ruling, the responsibility for the accident/death was placed on the vehicle owner, despite any other documents related to the sale of the vehicle. This implies that all other documents except the RC are irrelevant in such cases.

There seems to be no further clarity on this matter. It is a very scary situation indeed!

[chaitanyakrish]

I had sold my old car to Cars24 and they had given a legal document that Cars24 is responsible in case of any mishap until they find a buyer. Once it is sold by Cars24, we need to followup with the buyer and get the name change done.
It took Cars24 a few months to sell it and I got the contact of the buyer and forced him for name change.
I visited ECity,RTO along with him and got it done.

It's a one time hassle but we shouldn't ignore.

[TDIRaghav]

My brother sold our 2003 Maruti 800, registered in my father’s name, to his friend way back in 2013. Upon reading this thread, I checked details on Vahan app and my father is still the registered owner. My brother’s friend says he sold the car to a scrap dealer in 2015. Is there a way I can get the transfer done now? Or maybe get the car deregistered as it’s now a 20 year old car (registered in Kolkata but plying in Delhi).

[callvvijay]

Not to the OP - but, to the Mod-Team:

Mods, The link to this thread in the "Hot-Threads" section in the home page has been titled as "Sold car involved in fatal accident".

This can also be interpreted that the OP has sold a car to someone else after the call was involved in a fatal accident when it was with the OP. After opening the thread and reading thru' the post, I could understand that this is not the case.

I'm not sure if this is just me.

If you think my point is valid, can the heading be rephrased?

P.S: Mods / Members, Let the concentration of the post be solely on helping/supporting the OT. Let's not get into a discussion on this side-topic.

Cheers!

[mally2]

Originally Posted by TDIRaghav

My brother sold our 2003 Maruti 800, registered in my father’s name, to his friend way back in 2013. Upon reading this thread, I checked details on Vahan app and my father is still the registered owner. My brother’s friend says he sold the car to a scrap dealer in 2015. Is there a way I can get the transfer done now? Or maybe get the car deregistered as it’s now a 20 year old car (registered in Kolkata but plying in Delhi).

To be on the safer side, just get a 3rd party insurance asap, do this and get the other things in parallel.

[GTX+]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

I had sold my old car to Cars24 and they had given a legal document that Cars24 is responsible in case of any mishap until they find a buyer. Once it is sold by Cars24, we need to followup with the buyer and get the name change done.

But what is the remedy if the car has not been sold, still sitting with the dealer after 5 months, and god forbid some mishap happens? I had exchanged my old Honda city with Kia dealer who have not been able to secure a buyer so far. I have repeatedly followed up enquiring the status and once I also asked about the car's whereabouts (I wanted to physically check it once). I was told it is lying at one of their network partners outside of NCR.

Now what if the network partner takes the car out for a spin and there is a mishap, whos responsible? I too have a properly signed and stamped document from Kia dealer which mentions it is their responsibility if something happens. But will it pass the "My Lord's" scrutiny?

Lastly, couple of days ago I received a message from Parivahan that my car's PUC is due on 15th Mar. I have informed the dealer contact to get the PUC done, what if he does not. Who would be responsible if the car is out and gets caught by traffic police? The challan will come in my name