Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 Easy Reference - Motor Accident Claims

 

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 Easy Reference - Motor Accident Claims

 

 Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 32 of 2019) Amendments Relating To Motor Accident Claims – Notified w.e.f 01.04.2022 

This material is prepared for highlighting the important aspects of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 in respect of the Motor Accident Claims to come into effect from 01.04.2022. Also a detailed tabular column showing the notified provisions as on 28.03.2022 is provided herewith for Easy Reference. The Central Government has enacted an Amendment Act, 2019 to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in which it contains 93 provisions amending the various provisions of the Principal Act. Section 1 of the Amendment Act 2019 says, the provisions shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Amendment Act, 2019.

The Central Government through its Notification dated 28.08.2019 has notified certain penal provisions to come into force from 1st September, 2019. Similarly Section 1 of the Amendment Act, 2019 was notified by Notification Dated 30th August 2019. Recently, the Central Government has notified certain other provisions relating to the Accident Claims and Third Party Insurance through Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, it’s Notification dated 25th February, 2022 to come into effect from 1st April, 2022. Highlights on the Amendments Relating to the Motor Accident Claims w.e.f 01.04.2022 : Limitation for Filing Motor Accident Claims –

 Sub Section 3 inserted to Section 166 of the Principal Act which says, ―No Application for Compensation shall be entertained unless it is made within Six Months of the occurrence of the Accident‖. Hence a claim petition has to be filed within six months from the date of accident.

 

No Fault Liability - Section 164 :

 No fault liability under Section 140 and the structured formula compensation under Section 163A with the Second Schedule of the Principal Act have been repealed.

 Instead Section 164 has been substituted to the Principal Act for the claims under No fault Liability.

 Under the new substituted Section 164 of the Principal Act, Rupees Five lakh fixed for death and Rupees Two and a half lakh fixed for grievous hurt under no fault liability.

 The procedure for claiming compensation under Section 164 has been provided in the substituted Section 149 of the Principal Act.

 Procedure for claiming compensation under No fault liability – Substituted Section 149 of the Principal Act

 

149. Settlement by insurance company and procedure therefor. - (1) The insurance company shall, upon receiving information of the accident, either from claimant or through accident information report or otherwise, designate an officer to settle the claims relating to such accident. (2) An officer designated by the insurance company for processing the settlement of claim of compensation may make an offer to the claimant for settlement before the Claims Tribunal giving such details, within thirty days and after following such procedure as may be prescribed by the Central Government. (3) If, the claimant to whom the offer is made under sub-section (2),— (a) accepts such offer,— (i) the Claims Tribunal shall make a record of such settlement, and such claim shall be deemed to be settled by consent; and (ii) the payment shall be made by the insurance company within a maximum period of thirty days from the date of receipt of such record of settlement; (b) rejects such offer, a date of hearing shall be fixed by the Claims Tribunal to adjudicate such claim on merits.

 If a claimant accepts the compensation under Section 164, his claim petition before the Claims Tribunal shall lapse. In this regard a proviso clause has been inserted to Sub Section 1 of Section 166 of the Principal Act as follows:

―Provided further that where a person accepts compensation under section 164 in accordance with the procedure provided under section 149, his claims petition before the Claims Tribunal shall lapse.‖

 

Hit and Run Cases

 The compensation payable to victims of 'hit and run' cases out of the scheme fund under Section 161 has also been enhanced from Rs.50,000/- to Rs. 2 lakh in case of death, and from Rs.12,500/- to Rs. 50,000/- in case of grievous hurt.

 The Central Government has notified a Scheme under Section 161(3) of the Principal Act called, “Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022.”. It shall also come into force from 01.04.2022. This scheme will supersede the earlier Solatium Scheme, 1989.

 The procedure to be followed in making applications for claims under Hit and Run cases, Procedure to be followed by the claims Enquiry Officer, sanctioning of claims, payment of compensation and all other matters connected with have been enunciated in the scheme.

 

Motor Vehicle Accident Fund

 The Central Government has also notified Rules on February 25, 2022 called, ―Central Motor Vehicles (Motor Vehicle Accident Fund) Rules, 2022”