Third party insurance: what is it for?

I know I’ve already written a post about automotive insurance, and I’ve explained there how third party insurance works. Let me refresh your memory anyway: if you crash into someone else and it is your fault, your third party insurance will pay for that person’s damage.

…provided that person takes you, and evidence, to court, and gets a verdict in his favour. Do you know of anyone who has managed to do this? I haven’t.

What, then, is the purpose of third party insurance in India? Why is it a legal requirement? Why do I have to pay for five whole years of it when I purchase my car? Is there any real benefit to it, other than the fact that 18 per cent of all insurance premiums are tax?