The central government has proposed a long-awaited compensation scheme for road accident victims, offering 2 lakh rupees for deaths and 1 lakh rupees for grievous injuries, to be paid by insurance providers. The draft comes more than three years after Parliament passed the enabling legislation, addressing a delay that was highlighted by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
The Supreme Court had pulled up the government in April for failing to implement Section 164A of the Motor Vehicles Act, amended in 2019 to provide interim relief to accident victims. Although the law was notified on April 1, 2022, the government did not frame the implementation scheme until advocate Kishan Chand Jain approached the apex court.
Justice JB Pardiwala’s bench had given the Centre four months to finalise the scheme, a deadline that expired on August 28. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways submitted the draft proposal on August 29. The Supreme Court will review the matter in its next hearing in October. Senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, assisting as amicus curiae, will also examine the draft.
Under the proposed scheme, interim relief will be available only to claimants who approach Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals and it will cover future accidents occurring after the scheme is officially notified. Payments will be made by the insurance companies of offending vehicles within 15 days of application approval through a government portal. The interim amount will later be adjusted against the final compensation awarded by the tribunals.
Advocate Kishan Chand Jain has criticised the proposal as inadequate. He has argued that interim compensation should match the full amounts specified under Section 164, which are 5 lakh rupees for deaths and 2.5 lakh rupees for grievous injuries. He also pointed out that the scheme does not address accidents involving uninsured vehicles. The absence of an interim relief mechanism has caused significant hardships for families, especially when the deceased was the sole breadwinner. Families often struggle to meet basic expenses such as rent and school fees while waiting years for final compensation from tribunals.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has shared the draft with the finance ministry, the department of legal affairs, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, seeking their comments by September 8. The Supreme Court will review the scheme in its October hearing.
According to government data submitted to the court, India recorded approximately 460,000 road accidents in 2024, resulting in around 106,000 deaths and 202,000 cases of grievous injuries. Authorities hope the new interim relief scheme will reduce the financial burden on victims’ families and provide quicker support in the aftermath of accidents.
