COMPENSATION
TO VICTIMS OF HIT AND RUN MOTOR ACCIDENTS SCHEME, 2022
PREAMBLE
Whereas the draft scheme for Compensation to
victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents, 2021 was published, as required under
sub-section (1) of section 212 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988)
vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways, in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3,
Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 526 (E), dated the 2nd August, 2021, inviting
objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby,
before the expiry of thirty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette
of India in which the said notification was published, were made available to
the public;
And, whereas, copies of the said Gazette
notification were made available to the public on the 3rd August, 2021;
And, whereas, the objections and suggestions
received from the public in respect of the said draft scheme have been
considered by the Central Government.
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred
by section 161 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ( 59 of 1988) and in
supersession of the Solatium Scheme, 1989 issued vide number S.O. 440 (E),
dated the 12th June, 1989, except as respects things done or omitted to be done
before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following
scheme, namely:
Scheme - 1. Short title and commencement.
(1) This scheme may be called the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run
Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022.
(2) It shall come into force with effect from the 1st April, 2022.
Scheme - 2. Definitions.
In this scheme, unless the context otherwise
requires,
(a) "Act" means the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988);
(b) "Account for Insured Vehicles" means such part of the Fund
that is utilised for the cashless treatment of victims of motor accidents
caused by insured vehicles in accordance with the scheme framed under section
162;
(c) "Account for Uninsured Vehicles or Hit and Run Motor Accident"
means such part of the Fund that is utilised for the cashless treatment of
victims of motor accidents caused by uninsured vehicles or hit and run
accidents in accordance with the scheme framed under section 162.
(d) "cashless treatment" means treatment provided to the victims
of road accidents in accordance with the scheme framed under section 162;
(e) "Claims Enquiry Officer" means the Sub-Divisional Officer,
Tehsildar, or any other officer in charge of the revenue sub-division of a
Taluka in each revenue district of a State or such other officer not below the
rank of Sub-Divisional Officer or a Tehsildar, as may be specified by the State
Government;
(f) "Claims Settlement Commissioner" means the District
Magistrate, the Deputy Commissioner, the Collector or any other
officer-in-charge of a revenue district in a State appointed as such by the
State Government;
(g) District-level Committee" means a Committee set up under paragraph
11;
(h) "Form" means a Form annexed to this scheme;
(i) "Hit and Run Compensation Account" means such part of the
Motor Vehicle Accident Fund that is utilised for the payment of compensation
for hit and run accident victims and reimbursement of cashless treatment
expenditure of hit and run motor accident victims, to the Account for Uninsured
Vehicles or Hit and Run Motor Accident, if any.
(j) "Motor Vehicle Accident Fund" means a Fund as constituted
under section 164B, and shall include the Account for Insured Vehicles, Account
for Uninsured Vehicles or Hit and Run Motor Accident, and the Hit and Run
Compensation Account.
(k) "Section" means section of the Act;
(l) "Standing Committee" means Committee set up under paragraph 3.
Scheme - 3. Standing Committee.
(1) There shall be a Standing Committee consisting of the following members,
namely:
(a) an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways .......Chairperson;
(b) an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary, Department of
Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.......Member;
(c) an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary, Department of
Expenditure, Ministry of Finance........................Member;
(d) Secretary, General Insurance Council......Member;
(e) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Insurance Companies for the time
being carrying on general insurance business in India (three companies on
rotation basis).... Members;
(f) Transport Commissioners, one each from three States, nominated by the
Central Government by rotation ........Members;
(g) Representative as nominated by Principal Chief Controller of Accounts,
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways;
(h) Director, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways................Member;
(i) an officer nominated by the General Insurance
Council......Member-Secretary;
(j) any representative, as nominated by
Chairperson.........................-Member.
(2) The person nominated as a member by virtue of an office shall cease to
be a member when he ceases to hold that office.
Scheme - 4. Remuneration of members of Standing Committee.
A member shall not be paid any remuneration, except
travelling and daily allowance at the rates admissible to him and be paid from the
source he draws salary.
Scheme - 5. Powers and functions of Standing Committee.
The Standing Committee shall-
(a) periodically review the working of this scheme, including consideration
of the General Insurance Council Report referred to in paragraph 24, and its
implementation and direct corrective steps, wherever necessary;
(b) consider the issues raised in the quarterly reports of the District
Level Committee and provide guidance or directions, including on prevention of
fraud in implementation of this scheme, wherever called for;
(c) make recommendations to the Central Government for amendment of this
scheme to enable the efficient disbursement and working of the Hit and Run
Compensation Account, specifically with respect to prevention of fraud;
(d) provide procedure for conduct of business by the Standing Committee and
District Level Committee.
Scheme - 6. Meeting of Standing Committee.
The Standing Committee shall meet at such time,
date and at such a place as the Chairperson may, from time to time, appoint in
this behalf:
Provided that the Committee shall meet at least
once a year.
Scheme - 7. Quorum.
Not less than five members shall form a quorum:
Provided that if at any meeting there is no quorum,
the Chairperson may adjourn the meeting to a date not less than seven days
later, informing the members present and sending notices to other members that
he proposes to dispose off the business at the adjourned meeting, whether there
is a quorum or not, and he may thereupon dispose off the business at such
adjourned meeting.
Scheme - 8. Decision.
Every matter shall be determined by a majority of
votes of the members present and voting and, in case of equality of votes, the
Chairperson shall have a casting vote.
Scheme - 9. Notice of meeting.
(1) Notice shall be given by the Member-Secretary to every member of the
time, date and place fixed for each such meeting at least seven days before
such meeting and each member shall be furnished with a list of business to be
disposed off at the said meeting:
Provided that when an urgent meeting is called by
the Chairperson, such notice shall not be necessary, however, Member-Secretary
shall send an intimation to each member.
(2) No business which is not on the list of business shall be considered at
a meeting without the permission of the Chairperson.
Scheme - 10. Minutes of meeting.
The proceedings of each meeting of the Standing
Committee shall be circulated to all members and thereafter recorded in a
minutes book which shall be kept as a permanent record, including in electronic
form and the record of the proceedings of each meeting shall be signed by the
Chairperson.
Scheme - 11. District Level Committee.
(1) There shall be a District Level Committee in each District consisting of
the following members, namely:
(a) Claims Settlement Commissioner........Chairperson;
(b) Claims Enquiry Officer, nominated by the State Government......Member;
(c) Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police (Head
Quarter) of the District ...............Member;
(d) Chief Medical Officer of the District...............Member;
(e) the Regional Transport Officer or any other officer of Motor Vehicles
Department as nominated by the State Government........Member;
(f) any member of the public or a voluntary organisation connected with road
safety aspects as nominated by the Chairperson........................Member;
(g) an officer nominated by the General Insurance
Council........Member-Secretary.
(2) A person nominated as a member by virtue of an office shall cease to be
member when he ceases to hold that office.
(3) The term of office of the members nominated under clauses (d), (e) and
(f) of sub-paragraph (1) shall be determined by the State Government.
Scheme - 12. Remuneration of member of District Level Committee.
A member shall not be paid any remuneration except
travelling and daily allowance at the rate admissible to him in his respective
Department and be paid from the source he draws salary and a member nominated
under clause (f) of sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 11 shall be paid travelling
allowance or dearness allowance by General Insurance Council, at the rate as
may be decided by the General Insurance Council.
Scheme - 13. Powers and functions of District Level Committee.
The District Level Committee shall undertake all
functions connected with the implementation of this scheme at the District
Level, and it shall also perform the following functions, namely:-
(a) to evaluate the progress of implementation of this scheme in the
concerned District and take corrective steps, wherever necessary;
(b) to submit a report on quarterly basis to the Standing Committee,
including in electronic form and the report shall, inter alia, include
month-wise statistics about the claim applications received, awarded, pending
and reasons for pendency;
(c) to keep close liaison with other authorities in the district so as to
ensure that this scheme gets adequate publicity;
(d) to provide guidance or clarifications to concerned authorities and
claimants, wherever called for; and
(e) to raise awareness about the rights available to claimants and the
provision of compensation under this scheme.
Scheme - 14. Meeting of District Level Committee.
The District Level Committee shall meet at such
time, date and place, within the concerned District itself, as the Chairperson
may, from time to time, appoint in this behalf:
Provided that the Committee shall meet at least
once in each quarter.
Scheme - 15. Quorum.
Not less than three members shall form a quorum.
Scheme - 16. Decision.
Every matter shall be determined by a majority of
votes of the members present and voting, and in case of equality of votes,
Chairperson shall have a casting vote.
Scheme - 17. Notice of meeting.
(1) Notice shall be given by Member-Secretary to each member of the time,
date and place fixed for the meeting at least seven days before such a meeting
and each member shall be furnished with a list of business to be disposed off
at the said meeting:
Provided that when an urgent meeting is called by
the Chairperson, such notice shall not be necessary, however, Member-Secretary
shall send an intimation to each member.
(2) No business which is not on the list of business shall be considered at
a meeting without the permission of the Chairperson.
Scheme - 18. Minutes of meeting.
The proceedings of each meeting of the District
Level Committee shall be circulated to all members and thereafter recorded in a
minutes book which shall be kept as a permanent record, including in electronic
format and the record of the proceedings of each meeting shall be signed by
Chairperson.
Scheme - 19. Nomination of insurance company.
General Insurance Council shall nominate any of its
officer of an insurance company in each District for settlement of claims under
section 161 and this scheme.
Scheme - 20. Procedure for making claim application.
(1) The applicant shall submit an application seeking compensation under
this scheme in Form I, including through electronic means, along with a copy of
claim raised by the hospital providing the treatment, if any, as per Scheme for
Cashless Treatment formulated under section 162, and the undertaking in Form
IV, and such other documents mentioned in Form I, including through electronic
means, to the Claims Enquiry Officer of the Sub-Division or Taluka in which the
accident took place.
(2) Where the Claims Enquiry Officer does not accept the grounds advanced by
the applicant he shall record speaking order and communicate to the applicant
reasons for not accepting the claim application.
Scheme - 21. Procedure to be followed by Claims Enquiry Officer.
(1) On receipt of claims application, the Claims Enquiry Officer shall
immediately obtain a copy of the First Accident Report (FAR), post mortem
report, as the case may be, from the concerned authorities and hold enquiry in
respect of claims arising out of the hit and run motor accident.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Claims Enquiry Officer
(a) to decide as to who are the rightful claimants, where there is more than
one claimant;
(b) to submit to the Claims Settlement Commissioner, as early as possible,
and in any case within a period of one month from the date of receipt of
application, a report in Form II, along with his own recommendation, and the
Forms and documents received from the claimant.
(3) Where the Claims Settlement Commissioner has returned any report to the
Claims Enquiry Officer for further enquiry under sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph
22, the Claims Enquiry Officer shall make such additional enquiries as may be
necessary and re-submit the report to the Claims Settlement Commissioner within
fifteen days for final order.
Scheme - 22. Sanctioning of claims.
(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), on receipt of report of the Claims Enquiry
Officer, the Claims Settlement Commissioner shall sanction the claim, as far as
possible, within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of receipt
of such report and communicate the sanction order in Form III, and the Forms
and documents received from the claimant, to the Trust constituted under rule 4
of the Central Motor Vehicles (Motor Vehicle Accident Fund) Rules, 2022 or the
General Insurance Council, as the case may be, with a copy to the following:
(a) the Claims Enquiry Officer;
(b) the claimant;
(c) the concerned Motor Accident Claim Tribunal;
(d) the concerned Transport Commissioner;
(e) General Insurance Council headquarters.
(2) Claims Settlement Commissioner shall deduct the claim raised by the
hospital which has provided cashless treatment as per the scheme framed under
section 162 and sanction the balance amount:
Provided that the amount spent on cashless
treatment of the victim shall be transferred from the Hit and Run Compensation
Account to the Account for Uninsured Vehicles or Hit and Run Motor Accident of
the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund:
Provided further that if the claim raised by the
hospital which has provided cashless treatment as per the scheme framed under
section 162, is greater than the fixed sum compensation under section 161, no
compensation shall be paid to the claimant or legal representative of the
deceased, whichever the case may be.
(3) Where the Claims Settlement Commissioner has any doubt in respect of the
report submitted by the Claims Enquiry Officer, he shall return the report to
the Claims Enquiry Officer for further enquiry, indicating the specific points
on which the enquiry is to be made.
Scheme - 23. Payment of compensation.
(1) In the case of claims arising out of death of an accident victim, the
compensation awarded under paragraph 22 shall be made to the legal
representatives of the deceased decided by the Claims Enquiry Officer.
(2) In the case of claims arising out of grievous hurt, the compensation
awarded under paragraph 22 shall be made to the person injured.
(3) On behalf of the Trust referred to in sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 22,
General Insurance Council (GIC), immediately on receipt of the sanction order
in Form III, and the Forms and documents from the claimant, shall make the
e-payment to the bank account as provided by the claimant or legal
representative of the deceased, as the case may be, and simultaneously send
intimation to all the concerned authorities to whom the copy of the sanction
order is endorsed.
(4) The payment under sub-paragraph (3) shall be made within fifteen days
from the date of receipt of the sanction order:
Provided that the payment may be made within a
further period of thirty days, for reasons to be recorded in writing to the
Claims Settlement Commissioner.
(5) Upon disbursement of the compensation under sub-paragraph (3), the
Claims Enquiry Officer shall maintain a record, including in electronic form,
of the claim awarded and the date of payment made, which shall be used to
populate the quarterly report under clause (b) of paragraph 13.
Scheme - 24. Annual report.
The General Insurance Council shall prepare an
annual report on the working of this scheme and submit the same before the
Standing Committee, with a copy to the Central Government.
FORM I
[Paragraph 20 (1)]
FORM OF APPLICATION FOR COMPENSATION FROM HIT AND RUN COMPENSATION FUND
I,
....................................son*/daughter*/widow* of Shri
............................ residing at
........................................... having been grievously injured in
motor vehicle accident hereby apply for grant of compensation for the grievous
injuries sustained. Necessary particulars in respect of the injury sustained by
me are given below:
I, ...................................son
of/daughter of/widow of* Shri ...................... residing at
................................. hereby apply as a legal representative for
the grant of compensation on account of death/injuries sustained by
Shri/Shrimati/Kumari...................................son of/daughter of/widow*
of Shri......................................who died/had sustained injuries in
a motor vehicle accident
on..................at.................................Particulars in respect
of accident and other information are given below:
1.
Name and father's name of person injured/dead
(husband's name in case of married woman or widow):
2.
Address of the person injured/dead:
3.
Age.........Date of Birth........
4.
Sex of the person injured/dead:
5.
Aadhaar Number of the claimant in case of grievous
hurt or Aadhaar Number of legal representative.
6.
Copy of Passbook of the bank account of person
injured/legal representative of the deceased......
7.
Place, date and time of the accident:
8.
Occupation of the person injured/dead:
9.
Nature of injuries sustained:
10. Name and address of Police Station in whose jurisdiction accident took
place or was registered:
11. Name and address of the Hospital/Medical Officer/Practitioner who
attended on the injured/dead:
12. Name and address of the claimant/claimants:
13. Relationship with the deceased:
14. Copy of bill given by the Hospital which has provided cashless treatment
as per Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act
15. Any other information that may be considered necessary or helpful in the
disposal of the claim:
I hereby swear and affirm that all the facts noted
above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
SIGNATURE OF THE CLAIMANT
FORM II
[Paragraph 21 (2) (b)]
CLAIMS ENQUIRY REPORT TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE CLAIMS ENQUIRY OFFICER TO
THE CLAIMS
SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER
1.
Name and address of the person dead/injured:
2.
Place, time and date of the accident:
3.
Particulars of the Police Station in which the
accident was registered:
4.
Particulars of the Hospital/Medical
Officer/Practitioner who examined the dead/injured:
5.
Particulars of persons summoned and examined:
6.
Whether the fact of death/injury by hit and run
motor accident has been established or not and the reason for coming to that
conclusion:
7.
The name and address of claimant(s) eligible for
payment of compensation:
8.
Amount spent on cashless treatment of the victim.
9.
The amount of compensation recommended for payment
to the claimant. (In case of more than one claimant the amount each one of the
claimants is eligible for, and the reasons thereof shall be specified).
10. Any other information or records relevant or useful for the settlement
of the claim.
Signature, designation of the Claims Enquiry
Officer.
Seal:
Date:
FORM III
[Paragraph 22 (1)]
Serial No..............
Claims Settlement Commissioner
District.........................................
ORDER
I hereby sanction Rs.
.........................(Rupees ...............................only) as
compensation in respect of the death of.........(Name of deceased)/grievous
hurt to...........(Name of the injured) resulting from hit and run motor
accidents which took place at...........(Name of place) on.......(Date) to
Shri/Shrimati/Kumari.......as legal representative of the deceased (.......) or
to.........(Name of injured).
Claims Settlement Commissioner
CC to:
1.
Trust and General Insurance Council
2.
The Claimant;
3.
Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Tribunals;
4.
Claims Enquiry Officer;
5.
Member-Secretary of the Standing Committee.
FORM IV
[Paragraph 20(1)]
UNDERTAKING FOR REFUND OF CLAIM
(Under section 163 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988)
I/We.........as legal representative(s) of the deceased/injured.................hereby
give undertaking that I/we shall refund the amount of compensation that may be
awarded to me/us under section 161 of the Act, to the Hit and Run Compensation
Fund of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund in case I/we am/are awarded any other
compensation or amount in lieu of or by way of satisfaction of a claim for
compensation in respect of death or grievous hurt to...........under any other
provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or any other law for the time being
in force or otherwise.
Signature of the legal representative of the
deceased/injured person.