Statutory insurer defences under motor claims are confined to the express grounds in the Motor Vehicles Act.

An insurer impleaded in a third-party motor accident claim has only the statutory right to defend on the grounds expressly set out in section 96(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. The statutory scheme, reinforced by section 96(6), confines the insurer to those enumerated defences and prevents avoidance of liability otherwise than in the manner provided by the Act. The insurer's defence rights cannot be enlarged by implication, reflecting the legislation's protective focus on injured third parties and the limited statutory role of the insurer.

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Issues: Whether an insurer, when added as a party under section 96(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, can defend the action on grounds other than those expressly enumerated in that provision.

Analysis: The right of an insurer to be made a party and to defend arises from statute and its content depends on the statute itself. The language of section 96(2) confers a right to defend only on the grounds stated in the enumeration that follows, and section 96(6) reinforces that limitation by prohibiting avoidance of liability otherwise than in the manner provided in section 96(2). The surrounding scheme of compulsory third-party insurance and the statutory provisions for recovery between insurer and assured show that the legislature intended to protect the injured third party and to confine the insurer to the specified statutory defences.

Conclusion: The insurer cannot take defences outside those specified in section 96(2); the restriction is valid and binding.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed because the insurer's right of defence was held to be limited to the statutory grounds, and the High Court's view was affirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute creates a limited right in an insurer to be impleaded and to defend a third-party claim on specified grounds, the insurer's defences are confined to those expressly enumerated and cannot be enlarged by implication.

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