SC Issues Directions for “Accident Information Report”

SC Issues Directions for “Accident Information Report”

The Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions regarding process of disbursement of compensation as well as expediting the matter before the MACTs across the country. The aim of the directions is to make the compensation process to victims more smooth and claimant-friendly.

About the case

• A bench comprising justices S K Kaul and R Subhash Reddy directed that the central government develop an online platform accessible to the tribunals, police authorities and insurers throughout India for smooth and speedy disposal of accident cases.
• The Insurance company Bajaj Allianz filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court. The petition raised the issue of the difficulty of accident victims, waiting for years for compensation.
• Bajaj Allianz said that the police take months to even file an accident report for submission before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals (MACTs). This is the norm in many parts of the country,

Supreme Court’s Judgement

The Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions for police, Motor Accident Claim Tribunals and insurance firms nationwide to streamline the payment of compensation to the victims of road mishaps.

The jurisdictional police station shall report the accident under Section 159 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Further, the police need to send the report of the accident to the tribunal and insurer within the first 48 hours.

Police shall collect the documents relevant to the accident. This includes documents for computation of compensation and verification of the information and documents. This report shall be emailed to the tribunal and the insurer within three months.

The tribunal shall issue summons along with the Report or the application for compensation to the insurer by email.

The insurer shall email their offer for settlement/response to the Report to the tribunal.

After passing the award, the tribunal shall email an authenticated copy of the award to the insurer.

The insurer shall satisfy the award by depositing the awarded amount into a bank account maintained by the tribunal by RTGS or NEFT.

The Supreme Court has also ordered the Centre to launch a national online platform. The platform could be operated and accessed across the country for submission of accident reports, claims and responses to claims. This would end the distress felt by victims during accidents that happened in places other than their native State.

About the Motor Accident Claim Tribunals

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunals deal with claims relating to loss of life/property and injury cases resulting from Motor Accidents. The Claims are to be directly filed in the concerned Tribunal.

MACT Courts are presided over by Judicial Officers from Delhi Higher Judicial Service. Now these Courts are under direct supervision of the Hon’ble High Courts of various States.

The Tribunal has been created by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It has been constituted to provide speedier remedy to the victims of accident by motor vehicles.

The Tribunals takes away jurisdiction of Civil Courts in the matters which concerns the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal. Appeals from Claims Tribunal lies with High Courts. The appeal is limited by time and has to be filed in the High Court within 90 days from the date of award of Claims Tribunal.

The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Delhi Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal Rules, 2008, various other statutes and directions of the Superior Courts- Hon’ble Supreme court of India and the High Courts of various states govern the proceedings and claims before the MACT.

The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is a comprehensive legislation with the purpose of enhancing road safety. It also serves the purpose of welfare legislation by providing for compensation in case of loss of life or limb because of accidents by motor vehicles.