Supreme Court Orders Wide Publicity for Road Accident Relief Scheme
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The Supreme Court on October 16 told the Centre to give wide publicity to the Compensation to Victims (Interim Relief) Scheme, 2026, which the Road Transport Ministry has framed for road accident victims, calling it “an unannounced law”, LiveLaw, Bar and Bench and The Statesman reported. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan passed the order while hearing contempt petitions over delays in carrying out earlier directions, and said victims cannot claim a right they have not heard of.
How an Interim Claim Moves Through the System
A victim, or the legal heirs of someone who died, applies on an electronic portal, giving details of any claim before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. The application goes to the Department of Financial Services and the investigating officer, and then to the vehicle’s insurer. The officer must upload the Detailed Accident Report within 90 days of the accident. The insurer then has 30 days to accept or reject the application with reasons. If it accepts, payment must be made before the Tribunal within 30 days. The reports do not give the compensation amounts.
Uninsured Vehicles Left Open
The amicus curiae, Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, and an applicant appearing in person said the scheme seems to cover only insured vehicles. The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee to take instructions on that. He told the Court a communication went to state Chief Secretaries on February 23 asking them to circulate the guidelines, The Statesman reported. The applicant also asked for district-wise data on pending tribunal claims and said claims in Uttar Pradesh reportedly take over five years on average.
Three Years of Delay and a Hearing on 25 November
Section 164A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, came into force on April 1, 2022, but no scheme existed for about three years. On April 28, 2025, the Court told the Centre to frame one within four months. The Centre must now publish the scheme in the Official Gazette, and explain how it will work in practice, by the next hearing. A separate notice asks why the 2023 annual road accident report, due by the end of August 2025 under an April 17, 2025 order, was late. Both matters are listed for November 25, 2026. More court coverage is under Daily Updates.
Source: Supreme Court order of October 16, 2026, as reported by LiveLaw. Also based on reporting by Bar and Bench and The Statesman.
Image: Supreme Court of India building / Wikimedia Commons (file photo).
