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Can't compensate crash victim in instalments: Supreme Court

The new system, first of its kind in the country, was challenged by a group of lawyers from Chennai called the 'Law Association'.

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The Supreme Court has put brakes on a Madras High Court order that ruled that motor accident victims in Tamil Nadu would receive compensation in periodic instalments instead of a lump sum.

The new system, first of its kind in the country, was challenged by a group of lawyers from Chennai called the 'Law Association'. It found fault with the August 14, 2019 order, as it introduced a law alien to the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules provided therein.

The apex bench of Justices Vineet Saran and AS Bopanna stayed the new scheme called the Motor Accidents Claims Annuity Deposit (MACAD) scheme on Monday, with just a day remaining for its rollout on October 1. As per the order, instead of the sum being paid as a one-time deposit to the victim of the accident, the amount would be deposited in the bank, and the man/woman would receive timely instalments. S/he would be allowed to withdraw a large amount only with the permission of the Court.

The high court order came on a case filed by an insurance company faced with three different claims from a common accident involving one Mohan. The court was curious to know how three tribunals could entertain different claims for the same accident. It constituted an expert committee headed by a retired high court judge, Justice K Chandru.

The committee discovered this was not the only such case — it found evidence in 276 cases of motor accidents where multiple claims were cast for a single accident. An amount of Rs 48.2 crore had also been withdrawn as a result of these false claims.

To set things right and to ensure the compensation reaches the intended victim's kin, the bench ordered the state to implement MACAD by amending the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Tribunal Rules or issue a notification to this effect at the earliest.

The high court also ordered the Crime Branch of the state police to investigate how the multiple claims were filed in Mohan's case and bring all those guilty to book. While staying the MACAD scheme, the Supreme Court kept alive the direction for the investigation.

Unkind To Kin

 The order came from Madras High Court in April 2019 and was the first of its kind in the country
 It ruled that kin of road accident victims would get compensation in periodic instalments & not lump sums
 It was challenged by a group of lawyers who said it introduced a law ‘alien’ to the Motor Vehicle Act

 

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