RESULT OF SOCIAL JURIST PIL
Pursuant to the orders dated 23.08.2006 of Delhi High Court directing the Government of India to amend Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in terms of the prayers made in the petition, as expeditiously as possible, so that compensation shall be paid for third party fatal case/injury case, the government of India on 21.05.2007 informed the Hon’ble High Court that the Bill to extensively amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, in so far as the same related to compensation payable to the victims of motor accidents has also been introduced in Rajya Sabha, the entire process would culminate in proper legislation within the next six months or so. After recording the statement of the counsel for Government of India to the above effect, the PIL was disposed of.
Social Jurist through Mr. Ashok Agarwal, Advocate filed the PIL with regard to the ongoing inaction on the part of the Government of India to amend the provisions of the Second Schedule to Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. In terms of Section 163A (3) which provides that the Central Government may from time to time amend the Second Schedule keeping in view of the cost of living. It is submitted that thousands of people are dying and lacs of people are sustaining permanent disablement in road accidents every year. Notably, most of these people belong to the weaker and poorer sections of the society who do not have the resource and capacity to fight their cases for long for getting compensation. Consequently, with the existing rate of compensation based on structured formula basis under the Second Schedule to Section 163A and having regard to the steep increase in cost of living in the past ten years, the victims of road accidents are not at all adequately compensated. This is an innate failure on the part of the Central Government to perform their statutory duties to protect and uplift the safety and interest of the people besides being violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the Central Government is required to amend the above-mentioned provisions of law in the interest of justice.
Pursuant to the orders dated 23.08.2006 of Delhi High Court directing the Government of India to amend Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in terms of the prayers made in the petition, as expeditiously as possible, so that compensation shall be paid for third party fatal case/injury case, the government of India on 21.05.2007 informed the Hon’ble High Court that the Bill to extensively amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, in so far as the same related to compensation payable to the victims of motor accidents has also been introduced in Rajya Sabha, the entire process would culminate in proper legislation within the next six months or so. After recording the statement of the counsel for Government of India to the above effect, the PIL was disposed of.
Social Jurist through Mr. Ashok Agarwal, Advocate filed the PIL with regard to the ongoing inaction on the part of the Government of India to amend the provisions of the Second Schedule to Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. In terms of Section 163A (3) which provides that the Central Government may from time to time amend the Second Schedule keeping in view of the cost of living. It is submitted that thousands of people are dying and lacs of people are sustaining permanent disablement in road accidents every year. Notably, most of these people belong to the weaker and poorer sections of the society who do not have the resource and capacity to fight their cases for long for getting compensation. Consequently, with the existing rate of compensation based on structured formula basis under the Second Schedule to Section 163A and having regard to the steep increase in cost of living in the past ten years, the victims of road accidents are not at all adequately compensated. This is an innate failure on the part of the Central Government to perform their statutory duties to protect and uplift the safety and interest of the people besides being violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the Central Government is required to amend the above-mentioned provisions of law in the interest of justice.
