New Delhi, July 27 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 cannot be awarded merely because a motor vehicle was connected to the events leading to a person's death. Setting aside compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) and later enhanced by the Chhattisgarh High Court, the court held that claimants must establish a clear causal connection between the use of the vehicle and the death or injury before liability can arise under the Act.

The judgment came in Dilip Agarwal vs Rajshri Agarwal & Ors., delivered on July 22 by a Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih.

The case stemmed from the death of Anand, who was last seen travelling in a car driven by D...