Apex court: Create fund for accident victims

A bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran, M K Sharma and K S Radhakrishnan said: “To ensure that all accident victims get compensation, it is necessary to formulate a more comprehensive scheme for payment of compensation to victims of road accidents, in place of the present system of third party insurance.”

The court ordered placing a copy of the judgement before the chief secretary and the DGP of each state for compliance with directions for necessary action for the betterment of common people. The court said the Centre and state governments should look into the cases which include: Those who get hurt or killed in hit-and-run accidents, where the offending vehicle cannot be traced; those who meet with accidents while driving vehicles whose insurance has lapsed and has not been renewed; those who happened to be travelling in a vehicle that meets with an accident, especially after they had taken a lift from an unknown driver.

The apex court said the DGPs should ensure that an “accident information report” is sent to the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal within a month of the registration of the FIR.
The judgement said: “Such a hybrid model, which involves collection of a fixed life-time premium in regard to each vehicle plus imposition of a road accident cess, may provide a more satisfactory solution in a vast country like India.”