What the law says
Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 allows a claim to be made by the person injured, by the owner of damaged property, or where death has resulted by the legal representatives of the deceased. The claim rests on the negligent use of a motor vehicle, and the Tribunal awards what it considers just compensation.
Section 164, introduced by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 in place of the earlier Section 163A, provides a fixed sum without any need to prove negligence: five lakh rupees in the case of death and two lakh fifty thousand rupees in the case of grievous hurt. A claimant who takes this route gives up the larger fault based claim under Section 166, so the choice matters.
Section 166(3), restored by the 2019 amendment, requires an application to be made within six months of the accident. Section 158(6) requires the police to forward a report of the accident to the Tribunal, and in practice the Detailed Accident Report filed by the police is the spine of the case.
How compensation is computed is governed largely by precedent rather than by the statute. Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) settled the multiplier to be applied according to age, and National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) settled the addition for future prospects and fixed the conventional heads of loss of estate, funeral expenses and loss of consortium.
How the claim runs
A claim petition is filed before the Tribunal with the accident particulars, the injuries or the death, and the compensation claimed under each head. Notice goes to the driver, the owner and the insurance company, and the insurer files a written statement which in most cases disputes negligence, the quantum, or the validity of the policy.
Evidence follows. For an injury claim this means the wound certificate, the treatment records, the bills and, where a permanent disability is alleged, the disability certificate and the doctor who issued it. For a death claim it means the post mortem report, proof of the income of the deceased and proof of who the dependants are. The Tribunal then passes an award, which is executable as a decree.
An appeal against an award lies to the High Court under Section 173, and the section sets ninety days as the period for filing. Where the amount in dispute is less than one lakh rupees no appeal lies.
What to bring to the first meeting
Tick these off as you gather them. The list stays ticked on this device, and the page prints cleanly if you would rather carry it on paper.
Where these matters are heard
Claims are filed before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal. Section 166(2) allows the claimant to choose between the Tribunal where the accident occurred, where the claimant resides or carries on business, and where the defendant resides, which in practice lets an injured person file close to home.
VERIFY WITH ADVOCATE — which court exercises the powers of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal for Thiruvananthapuram, Neyyattinkara, Nedumangad and Kattakada, and its current numbering.
Common questions
The accident was more than six months ago. Is the claim lost?+
Section 166(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as restored by the 2019 amendment, prescribes six months. This is a significant change from the position before the amendment, when no period of limitation applied. Whether a delayed claim can still be entertained on the facts of a particular case is something to take advice on without further delay.
The driver had no valid licence. Will the insurance company still pay?+
In general the insurer is directed to first satisfy the award and may then recover the amount from the owner. This pay and recover approach has been applied by the Supreme Court where a statutory defence is made out against the owner but the claimant is an innocent third party. The defences available to an insurer are set out in Section 149 of the Act.
The vehicle that caused the accident was never traced. Is there any remedy?+
Yes. The Act provides a scheme of compensation for hit and run cases funded under Section 161, administered through the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund introduced by the 2019 amendment. The amounts are fixed and considerably lower than a fault based award. VERIFY WITH ADVOCATE — the current notified amounts and the claim procedure followed in Kerala.
Can anything be received before the case is decided?+
An interim award is possible, and the fixed compensation route under Section 164 is available where the claimant is willing to give up the fault based claim. Which course suits a given case depends on the injuries, the income of the person injured and the strength of the evidence on negligence.