Legal Aspects of Autonomous Vehicles in India: Liability, Insurance and Regulatory Framework.
Abstract
The emergence of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles represents one of the most transformative
technological shifts in modern mobility, intersecting artificial intelligence, data governance, and transport
regulation. Around the world, legal systems are being forced to reconsider long-standing notions of driver
responsibility, manufacturer liability, and insurance risk allocation. In India—where rapid urbanisation,
dense road networks, and complex socio-legal structures already challenge conventional traffic
management—the introduction of self-driving technologies raises unprecedented questions. How should
liability be apportioned when control passes from human to algorithm? Can existing statutes such as the
Motor Vehicles Act 1988 accommodate machine decision-making? What role should data protection, product
safety, and insurance regulation play in ensuring accountability without stifling innovation? This study
addresses these questions through a comprehensive doctrinal and policy analysis of India’s preparedness for
the era of autonomous mobility.
The pandemic-era acceleration of automation and digital logistics gave urgency to autonomous-vehicle (AV)
research. Pilot projects by Tata Elxsi, Mahindra Electric, and IIT Madras’s Smart Mobility Lab demonstrate
India’s growing technical capability. Yet the law remains static: the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019
modernised licensing, road safety, and compensation provisions but omitted any reference to autonomy or
artificial intelligence. Regulatory silence coexists with active innovation—a paradox that this paper seeks to
unravel. The analysis proceeds from the premise that technology neutrality alone is inadequate; explicit
statutory frameworks are required to define responsibilities among drivers, owners, manufacturers, software
developers, and insurers.
technological shifts in modern mobility, intersecting artificial intelligence, data governance, and transport
regulation. Around the world, legal systems are being forced to reconsider long-standing notions of driver
responsibility, manufacturer liability, and insurance risk allocation. In India—where rapid urbanisation,
dense road networks, and complex socio-legal structures already challenge conventional traffic
management—the introduction of self-driving technologies raises unprecedented questions. How should
liability be apportioned when control passes from human to algorithm? Can existing statutes such as the
Motor Vehicles Act 1988 accommodate machine decision-making? What role should data protection, product
safety, and insurance regulation play in ensuring accountability without stifling innovation? This study
addresses these questions through a comprehensive doctrinal and policy analysis of India’s preparedness for
the era of autonomous mobility.
The pandemic-era acceleration of automation and digital logistics gave urgency to autonomous-vehicle (AV)
research. Pilot projects by Tata Elxsi, Mahindra Electric, and IIT Madras’s Smart Mobility Lab demonstrate
India’s growing technical capability. Yet the law remains static: the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019
modernised licensing, road safety, and compensation provisions but omitted any reference to autonomy or
artificial intelligence. Regulatory silence coexists with active innovation—a paradox that this paper seeks to
unravel. The analysis proceeds from the premise that technology neutrality alone is inadequate; explicit
statutory frameworks are required to define responsibilities among drivers, owners, manufacturers, software
developers, and insurers.