NEW DELHI: All states must allow uninsured vehicles involved in accidents to be auctioned, to pay compensation to the victims, the Supreme Court ordered on Thursday. The states were given 12 weeks to amend their rules under the Motor Vehicles Act to this effect.
The auction's proceeds should be deposited with the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), as per the order. Currently, Delhi is the only state that follows this rule.
Under the MACT Act, compensation is awarded after determining factors like the income of the deceased, the deduction to be made towards the personal living expenses of the deceased, and the multiplier to be applied with reference to the age of the deceased.
Last month, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India made long-term third-party insurance mandatory, following an apex court order for both two and four-wheelers. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, third-party insurance is mandatory.
The order came on a plea by an accident victim’s wife, who contended that the Motor Vehicles Act made third-party insurance mandatory for vehicles, and it was an offence to drive an uninsured vehicle.
The advocate appearing for the petitioner, Usha Devi, contended that the mandate behind the law was that the families of those killed or injured in accidents must not be made to litigate for years to get compensation from the owner/driver of the vehicle involved.