Supreme Court Pulls Up Central Government Over Delay in Framing Cashless Treatment Scheme for Road Accident Victims

The Supreme Court reprimanded the Central Government for failing to implement a crucial provision under Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which mandates the formulation of a scheme for providing cashless treatment to road accident victims during the critical "golden hour" – the one-hour period immediately after an accident. This failure, the Court noted, amounted to a serious breach of both its orders and the statutory mandate.

Court's Criticism of Government's Inaction

The bench, comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, expressed grave concerns over the government's inaction, stating that this was not only a violation of court orders but also an instance of the failure to implement a beneficial provision intended to save lives. The Court highlighted the urgency of framing the scheme, which was supposed to help save the lives of road accident victims who often do not receive timely medical care.

Justice Oka issued a stern warning to the Central Government, indicating that contempt proceedings could be initiated if progress was not made. He stated, "We only directed you to implement your own statute. We are making it very clear that we will issue notice of contempt also if we find that no progress is made."

Government’s Response and Further Directives

The Union of India’s counsel submitted that the government would take action, citing certain bottlenecks in the process. However, Justice Oka was unsatisfied with this explanation, emphasizing that top government officials must take court orders seriously, and that the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would have to personally appear via videoconference on April 28, 2025, to explain the delay.

Key Provisions Under Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act

Section 162(2) mandates that the Central Government formulate a scheme to provide cashless medical treatment for road accident victims during the golden hour, which is the critical period within one hour of a traumatic injury. The objective is to ensure that accident victims receive prompt medical treatment to reduce mortality rates. However, despite this provision coming into force on April 1, 2022, the scheme has yet to be implemented.

Court's Directives Regarding Hit-and-Run Cases

The Court also addressed issues concerning the processing of claims in hit-and-run accident cases. It noted that as of July 31, 2024, there were 921 pending claims with the General Insurance Council (GIC). The Court directed the GIC to update the latest status of pending claims and ordered the Chief Secretary of the Transport Department to instruct all District Magistrates to upload the details of such claims on the GIC portal.

The Court also acknowledged the efforts of some State Legal Services Authorities, which have been actively conducting meetings to expedite the processing of claims.

Establishment of Monitoring Committees for Victim Compensation

In its earlier orders, the Court had directed the establishment of a Monitoring Committee in each district to oversee the implementation of the Victim Compensation Scheme. This committee, which includes representatives from the District Legal Services Authority, the State Government, and the police, is required to meet at least once every two months to review compliance.

The Court further instructed that all Legal Services Authorities submit compliance reports by July 15, 2025, and GIC is to file an affidavit detailing the status of the claims and compliance by the same date.

Concerns Over Low Claim Settlement Rates

The Court had previously expressed concern over the low settlement rates under the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022. As a result, it had directed GIC to work closely with claim settlement officers to address deficiencies in processing and ensure timely compensation to victims.

In addition, the Court had earlier asked the GIC to develop a digital portal for the processing of claims and mandated that the portal be fully functional by March 14, 2025.

Case Title: S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India and Ors.