Consider setting up appellate tribunals under Motor Vehicles Act: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Union government to consider setting up appellate tribunals under the Motor Vehicles Act, by amending the law to ensure speedy disposal of road accident claims matters as a large number of such cases remained pending before various High Courts.

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari asked the Ministry of Law and Justice to examine the matter.

"In order to curtail the pendency before the High Courts and for speedy disposal of the appeals concerning payment of compensation to the victims of road accident, it would be just and proper to consider constituting ‘Motor Vehicle Appellate Tribunals’ by amending Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act so that the appeals challenging the award of a Tribunal could be filed before the Appellate Tribunal so constituted," the bench said.

The court said various benches of such an appellate tribunal could consist of two Senior District Judges.

"To ensure access to justice and to avoid pendency, it is also proper to consider setting up benches of the appellate tribunal in various regional cities, in addition to the capital city of each state as may be indicated by the relevant High Court," the bench said.

For this purpose, appropriate rules governing the procedure of the appellate tribunal may also be framed. No further appeal against the order of the appellate tribunal need be provided. If any of the party is aggrieved by the order of the appellate tribunal, he can always invoke the writ jurisdiction of the concerned High Court for appropriate reliefs, the bench added.

The top court was dealing with a plea by Rashmita Biswal and her two sons against the High Court's order to reduce compensation for death of her husband in a road accident at Talcher district in 2013 from Rs 22.60 lakh to Rs 17 lakh.

The bench, which enhanced the compensation to Rs 31.01 lakh, noted that at a large number of claim petitions, under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 were being filed before the various claims tribunals throughout the country.

Against the awards of the tribunals, appeals are filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 before the relevant High Court, either by the claimants or by the insurers and owners of the offending vehicles, it said.

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