Case Law Analysis
|Karnataka High Court
Gratuitous Passenger Status Does Not Bar Claim When Deceased Was Goods Carrier Who Completed Loading/Unloading | Motor Vehicles Act Section 166 : Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court ruled that a person who unloaded goods from a truck and was subsequently killed in an accident is not automatically a gratuitous passenger under the Motor Vehicles Act. Since the deceased was engaged in the carrier’s business and had not yet ceased to be functionally connected to the transport operation, the insurer remains liable under Section 166, reinforcing that liability turns on functional role, not mere passenger classification.