Delhi High Court High Court

Rajesh Tyagi & Ors. vs Jaibir Singh & Ors. on 16 December, 2009

Delhi High Court
Rajesh Tyagi & Ors. vs Jaibir Singh & Ors. on 16 December, 2009
Author: J.R. Midha
41
*IN   THE      HIGH   COURT    OF   DELHI    AT   NEW DELHI

                       +    FAO 842/2003

%                          Date of Decision: 16th December, 2009

      RAJESH TYAGI & ORS.                   ..... Appellants
                     Through : None.

                 versus

      JAIBIR SINGH & ORS.                  ..... Respondents
                      Through : Mr. Gopal Subramaniam,
                                Solicitor General of India with
                                Mr. Atul Nanda Standing.
                                Counsel for Union of India.
                                Mr. Vikas Pahwa, Additional
                                Standing Counsel for Delhi
                                Police.
                                Mr. V.P. Chaudhary, Sr. Adv. and
                                Mr. Anoop Bhambhani, amicus
                                curiae.
                                Mr. Arun Mohan, Sr. Adv. and
                                Ms.Rajdeepa Behura, Adv. as
                                Members of the Committee
                                appointed by the Court.
                                Mr. Manoj Ranjan Sinha, Adv.
                                for R - 3.
                                Mr. Kanwal Chaudhary, Adv.
                                for New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
                                Mr. Pradeep Gaur, Adv. for
                                National Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Ms. Manjusha Wadhwa and
                                Ms. Harsh Lata, Advs.
                                for Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Mr. K.L. Nandwani and
                                Mr. Sameer Nandwani, Advs. for
                                Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Mr. Atul Nanda, Adv. for
                                Bajaj Reliance General
                                Insurance CO. Ltd., Future
                                Generali India Insurance Co.
                                Ltd. and ICICI Lombard General
                                Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Ms. Shantha Devi Raman, Adv.
                                for IFFCO Tokyo General
                                Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Ms. Anjali Bansal, Adv. for Tata
                                AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                Mr. Pankaj Seth, Adv. for Royal
                                Sundaram Alliance Insurance
                                Co. Ltd. and Universal Sompo
FAO 842/2003                                           Page 1 of 17
                                   General Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                  Mr. Sunil Kapoor and Mr. Anurag
                                  Sharma, Advs. for HDFC Ergo
                                  General Insurance Co. Ltd.
                                  Ms. Suman Bagga, Adv. for
                                  Cholamandalam.


CORAM :-
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.R. MIDHA

1.   Whether Reporters of Local papers may
     be allowed to see the Judgment?

2.   To be referred to the Reporter or not?

3.   Whether the judgment should be
     reported in the Digest?


                       JUDGMENT (Oral)

1. Mr. Vikas Pahwa, the learned Additional Standing Counsel

for Delhi Police submits that the Delhi Police has issued a circular

dated 22nd July, 2009 to all Deputy Commissioners of Police

instructing them to strictly implement the duties of the police

under Section 158(6) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Delhi

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Rules, 2008. The learned

Additional Standing Counsel submits that the Claims Tribunal

Agreed Procedure formulated by the Committee appointed by

this Court imposes additional duties on the police which are

beyond the scope of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as well as Delhi

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Rules, 2008. The learned

Additional Standing Counsel, in particular, refers to Clauses

3(B)(i)(ii) and 3(3) of the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure under

which the Police has to collect the proof of age and income of the

deceased in the case of death, proof of the medical bills and

FAO 842/2003 Page 2 of 17
expenses in the case of injuries and has also to verify the

genuineness of the said documents. The learned Additional

Standing Counsel submits that it is not the legal duty of the Police

to collect the said evidence and to verify the genuineness of the

same. The learned Additional Standing Counsel further submits

that in case of hit and run accidents, it may not possible to

complete the investigation within a period of 30 days as provided

in Clause 4 of the Claim Tribunal Agreed Procedure. It is further

submitted that at times, the MLC and post-mortem report are not

made available to them within 30 days of the accident.

2. Mr. Atul Nanda, the learned Standing Counsel for Union of

India submits that all the seventeen Insurance Companies have

agreed to settle the accident cases as per the Claims Tribunal

Agreed Procedure. It is further submitted that the Insurance

Companies instead of relying on the report of their Investigator,

would prefer to rely on the report of a police officer who is a public

servant and is accountable for his report. It is submitted that the

Insurance Companies have taken a big step forward by agreeing

to a new mechanism for payment of compensation to the victims

of the road accident within a fixed time frame and the police

should also show the grace to agree to perform an additional duty

to serve the society. It is further pointed out that the additional

duties to be performed by the police are not such that it will

increase the burden on the police. The Police while conducting

the investigation, can easily collect some more documents and

information.

FAO 842/2003 Page 3 of 17

3. Mr. Arun Mohan, Senior Advocate and member of the

Committee appointed by this Court vide order dated 3.12.2009 in

MAC.APP.No.236/2009 and MAC.APP.238/2009 submits that

pending examination of the contentions raised by the Delhi Police

as to their duties under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Delhi

Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Rules, 2008 and otherwise in law,

the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure may be implemented by

the Insurance Companies and Delhi Police for a period of six

months on trial basis as a pilot project.

4. The learned Additional Standing Counsel for Delhi Police on

instructions from Mr. Manjesh Kashyap, DCP (Hqrs.), Delhi Police

who is present in the Court and has taken instructions from the

Commissioner of Police during the hearing of this case, submits

that Delhi Police is agreeable to implement the Claims Tribunal

Agreed Procedure on a trial basis as a pilot project for a period of

six months without prejudice to the contentions raised before this

Court today.

5. The Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure formulated by the

Committee of the Secretaries/nominees of the Ministries of Road

Transport and Highways; Finance (Department of Insurance);

Law, Justice and Company Affairs; and Joint Commissioner of

Police (Northern Range) is accepted subject to the following:-

(i) The Investigating Officer of the Police shall intimate
the factum of the accident to the Claims Tribunals
within 48 hours of the accident. If the insurance
particulars are available by that time, the
Investigating Officer shall also send the intimation to
the concerned Insurance Company by e-mail. The
factum of the accident shall also be uploaded by Delhi
FAO 842/2003 Page 4 of 17
Police on its website. The intimation of the accident
shall contain all relevant particulars including the
date, time and place of accident, registration number
of the offending vehicle, policy particulars, names and
addresses of the owner and driver of the offending
vehicle and the name and mobile number of the
Investigating Officer.

(ii) Immediately upon receipt of intimation, the Insurance
Company shall appoint a Designated Officer for each
case. The Designated Officer shall be responsible for
dealing/processing of that case and for taking decision
for the amount of compensation payable in
accordance with law after the Detailed Accident
Report by the police.

(iii) The Investigating Officer of Police shall collect the
relevant evidence relating to the accident as well as
the computation of compensation. The Investigating
Officer shall take photographs of the scene of the
accident from all angles. In the case of death, the
Investigating Officer shall collect the proof of age,
occupation, income of the deceased and number of
legal representatives of the deceased. In the case of
injuries, the Investigating Officer shall collect proof of
injuries suffered and expenses incurred by the injured.
The Investigating Officer shall also collect the relevant
documents including driving licence, registration
certificate, fitness and permit of the offending vehicle,
death certificate, post mortem report, birth certificate,
salary slip, certificate of the employer, Income-tax
returns, MLC, prescription slips, bills for medical
expenses and shall also verify the genuineness of the
said documents.

(iv) The Investigating Officer shall file a Detailed Accident
Report (DAR) with the Claims Tribunal within 30 days
of the accident. The Detailed Accident Report shall
be accompanied by the report under Section 173
Cr.P.C., FIR, MLC, Post Mortem Report, photographs,
site plan, mechanical inspection report, seizure
memo, death certificate, proof of age, occupation and
income of the deceased and age of the legal
representatives of the deceased in the case of death,
proof of injuries and expenses in the case of injuries
along with affidavit about the verification of the said
documents. Copy of the Detailed Accident Report
shall simultaneously be furnished to the Insurance
company as well as to the claimants.

FAO 842/2003 Page 5 of 17

(v) The Investigating Officer of the Police shall also furnish
a copy of Detailed Accident Report along with
complete documents to Secretary, Delhi Legal
Services Authority, Central Office, Pre-Fab Building,
Patiala House Courts, New Delhi. Delhi Legal
Services Authority shall examine each case and assist
the Claims Tribunal in determination of the just
compensation payable to the claimants in accordance
with law.

(vi) Where the Investigating Officer is unable to complete
the investigation of the case within 30 days for
reasons beyond his control, such as cases of hit and
run accidents, cases where the parties reside outside
the jurisdiction of the Court cases, where the driving
licence is issued outside the jurisdiction of the Court,
or where the victim has suffered grievous injuries and
is undergoing treatment, the Investigating Officer
shall approach the Claims Tribunal for extension of
time whereupon the Claims Tribunal shall suitably
extend the time in the facts of each case.

(vii) The Investigating Officer shall produce the driver,
owner, claimant and eye-witnesses before the Claims
Tribunals along with the Detailed Accident Report.
However, if the Police is unable to produce the owner,
driver, clamant and eye-witnesses before the Claims
Tribunal on the first date of hearing for the reasons
beyond its control, the Claims Tribunal shall issue
notice to them to be served through the Investigating
Officer for a date for appearance not later than 30
days. The Investigating Officer shall give an advance
notice to the concerned Insurance Company about the
date of filing of the Detailed Accident Report before
the Claims Tribunal so that the nominated counsel for
the Insurance Company can remain present on the
first date of hearing before the Claims Tribunal.

(viii) The concerned Registration Authority of the
Government of NCT of Delhi shall furnish the report in
Form-D of the Delhi Motor Accident Claims Tribunal
Rules, 2008 to the Police and Claims Tribunal within 15
days of the receipt of the request from the police or
the direction from the Tribunal in Form-E. The
Registration Authority shall also assist the Police in
verification of the documents.

(ix) The Claims Tribunals shall examine whether the
Detailed Accident Report is complete in all respects
and shall pass appropriate order in this regard. If the
Detailed Accident Report is not complete in any
FAO 842/2003 Page 6 of 17
particular respect, the Claims Tribunal shall direct the
Investigating Officer to complete the same and shall
fix a date for the said completion.

(x) The Claims Tribunals shall treat the Detailed Accident
Report filed by the Investigating Officer as a claim
petition under Section 166(4) of the Motor Vehicles
Act. However, where the Police is unable to produce
the claimants on the first date of hearing, the Claims
Tribunal shall initially register the Detailed Accident
Report as a miscellaneous application which shall be
registered as a main claim petition after the
appearance of the claimants.

(xi) The Claims Tribunal shall grant 30 days time to the
Insurance Company to examine the Detailed Accident
Report and to take a decision as to the quantum of
compensation payable to the claimants in accordance
with law. The decision shall be taken by the
Designated Officer of the Insurance Company in
writing and it shall be a reasoned decision. The
Designated Officer of the Insurance Company shall
place the written reasoned decision before the Claims
Tribunal within 30 days of the date of complete
Detailed Accident Report.

(xii) The compensation assessed by the Designated Officer
of the Insurance Company in his written reasoned
decision shall constitute a legal offer to the claimants
and if the claimants accept the said offer, the Claims
Tribunal shall pass a consent award and shall provide
30 days time to the Insurance Company to make the
payment of the award amount. However, before
passing the consent award, the Claims Tribunal shall
ensure that the claimants are awarded just
compensation in accordance with law. The Claims
Tribunal shall also pass an order with respect to the
shares of the claimants and the mode of
disbursement.

(xiii) If the claimants are not in a position to immediately
respond to the offer of the Insurance Company, the
Claims Tribunals shall grant them time not later than
30 days to respond to the said offer.

(xiv) If the offer of the Insurance Company is not acceptable
to the claimants or if the Insurance Company has any
defence available to it under law, the Claims Tribunal
shall proceed to conduct an inquiry under Sections
168
and 169 of the Motor Vehicles Act and shall pass
an award within a period of 30 days thereafter.

FAO 842/2003 Page 7 of 17

6. Mr. Atul Nanda, Convener of the Committee appointed by

this Court vide order 5th November, 2009 is directed to

incorporate the aforesaid Clauses in Claims Tribunal Agreed

Procedure and place the same before this Court on 21st

December, 2009.

7. While computing the compensation in respect of death

cases, the learned Tribunals shall, so far as possible, compute the

compensation payable to the legal representatives of the

deceased victim according to the principles laid down by the

Hon‟ble Supreme Court in the case Sarla Verma Vs. DTC, 2009

(6) SCALE 129 which are reproduced hereunder:-

I.    MULTIPLIER

               Age of the deceased          Multiplier
                    (in years)

                      15 - 20                   18
                      21 - 25                   18
                      26 - 30                   17
                      31 - 35                   16
                      36 - 40                   15
                      41 - 45                   14
                      46 - 50                   13
                      51 - 55                   11
                      56 - 60                   09
                      61 - 65                   07
                     Above 65                   05

(Where the deceased was unmarried, the multiplier
to be adopted according to the age of the parents)

II. DEDUCTION FOR PERSONAL AND LIVING EXPENSES

Deceased – unmarried

(i) Deduction towards personal : 1/2 (50%)
expenses.

(ii) Deduction where the family of the : 1/3rd (33.33%)
bachelor is large and dependent on
the income of the deceased.





FAO 842/2003                                                       Page 8 of 17
        Deceased - married
       (i)       2 to 3 dependent family          :   1/3rd
                 members.

       (ii)      4 to 6 dependent family          :   1/4th
                 members.

       (iii)     More  than      6      family    :   1/5th
                 members

       (iv)      Subject to the evidence to       :   Father, brother and sisters will not
                 the contrary.                        be considered as dependents.


III.   FUTURE PROSPECTS

       (i)      Permanent job             :      Actual salary - tax +
                below 40 years of age            50% towards future prospects.

       (ii)     Permanent     job         :      Actual salary - tax +30% towards
                between 40 - 50 years            future prospects.


       (ii)     More than 50 years with:         Actual salary only.
                permanent job.                   No addition for future prospects.

       (iv)     Deceased employed at a :          Only actual income to be taken.
                fixed salary (without              No addition.
                provision for annual
                increments)

       (v)      Departure from this Rule :        Only in rare and exceptional cases
                                                  involving special circumstances.

IV.    NON-PECUNIARY DAMAGES

        (i)      Compensation for loss of             :       Rs.5,000/- to Rs.10,000/-
                 estate
        (ii)     Compensation for loss of             :       Rs.5,000/- to Rs.10,000/-
                 consortium
        (iii)    Compensation for pain and            :       Nil
                 sufferings and hardship

        (iv)     Funeral expenses, cost of            :       Actual
                 transportation of body and
                 medical expenses"

8. Where the legal representatives of the deceased victim do

not have documentary evidence of the income of the deceased,

the Claims Tribunal shall take the minimum wages into

consideration and shall take judicial note of the increase in

minimum wages due to inflation and rise in price index and

compute the income of the deceased by taking the average of the

minimum wages and its double following the judgments of this
FAO 842/2003 Page 9 of 17
Court in the cases of Kanwar Devi vs. Bansal Roadways, 2008

ACJ 2182; Lekh Raj vs Suram Singh, 2007 ACJ 2165; and

National Insurance Company Limited vs. Renu Devi III (2008)

ACC 134.

9. In the case of death of a child, the Claims Tribunal shall

consider the principles laid down by this Court in the case of

National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Farzana, MAC.APP.13/2007

decided on 14.7.2009 following the judgments of the Hon‟ble

Supreme Court in the cases of Manju Devi Vs. Musafir

Paswan, VII (2005) SLT 257 and R.K. Malik Vs. Kiran Pal, III

(2006) ACC 261, according to which the following compensation

is payable:-

Compensation for loss of dependency Rs.2,25,000/-
Compensation for loss of future prospects Rs. 75,000/-
Non-pecuniary compensation Rs. 75,000/-

________________
Total Rs.3,25,000/-

________________

10. The Delhi Police shall require some time for implementation

of the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure. The Delhi Police shall

have to create the paraphernalia, select the officers and provide

them training and mobile phones to take photographs of the site

of the accident.

11. It is agreed by the Delhi Police that the implementation of

Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure shall commence from 15th

January, 2010 and the same shall tentatively remain in force for a

period of six months up to 14th July, 2010. The Claims Tribunal

Agreed Procedure shall apply to all accidents which occur after

15th January, 2010 and shall cover the accidents which occur up

FAO 842/2003 Page 10 of 17
to 14th July, 2010.

12. The learned Additional Standing Counsel for Delhi Police

submits that if some difficulties arise in the implementation of

this scheme during this period of six months, this Court shall be

approached for suitable modification. It would, therefore, be

appropriate that the working of the Claims Tribunal Agreed

Procedure be monitored by the Committee appointed by this

Court vide order dated 5th November, 2009 which has formulated

the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure. The monthly report be

submitted by all the Insurance Companies as well as by the Police

before the said Committee, which shall submit the same before

this Court along with its comments within 15 days thereafter.

The first status report by the Insurance Companies and the Delhi

Police for the period 15th January, 2010 to 14th February, 2010

shall be submitted to the Committee by 28th February, 2010 and

the Committee shall examine the same and submit their report

before this Court by 15th March, 2010 and the same shall be

considered by this Court on 23rd March, 2010.

13. Mr. Arun Mohan, Senior Advocate has some suggestions for

the Delhi Police for expeditious investigation of the accident

cases. The suggestions of Mr. Arun Mohan are as under:-

First : “Today, there are more drivers on the road carrying a mobile
phone than perhaps those carrying a (genuine) driving
licence. This phenomenon can be utilised for the purposes of
investigation of motor accidents.

The Police Control Room can set up a Cell for Accident
Identification with a dedicated telephone number (having
several lines) to which the Investigating Officer deputed to
investigate an accident upon reaching the spot can make
calls and it would register the number from which the calls are
coming and the time as part of its call listing of received calls.

FAO 842/2003 Page 11 of 17

Upon reaching the spot, the Investigating Officer (or the PCR
Van) should take possession of the mobile phones of all
concerned – driver, occupant/s, victim/s. Thereupon the
Investigating Officer should make calls to the aforesaid
designated police telephone number in the following order:

1. from his own (Investigating Officer‟s) mobile phone;

2. from the driver‟s mobile (If the driver is carrying more
than one mobile phone, such phone calls be made from
each of the phones.);

3. from the mobile phones of the occupant/s of the car;

and
4 from the victim‟s mobile phone.

After these calls, there be another call from the Investigating
Officer‟s mobile phone to this number to signify the end of
series. Appropriate system to bunch these calls can be
easily engineered. The necessary information (call details)
can then be transferred to the electronic case file which is
opened for the particular accident.

To be doubly sure, the Investigating Officer may also call his
own number from the driver‟s mobile phone. If no number is
displayed, the Investigating Officer ought to seize the mobile
phone.

Identification of the mobile phones in use at the time of the
accident and accessibility through the service provider to
driver‟s (and others‟) location and call listings for the
preceding period will give law enforcement a much stronger
hand. And more importantly, prevent false claims when
there has not been any accident or injury.

Second:An Insurance Company must know about an accident
immediately upon its occurrence so that it can make the
necessary investigations. Presently, the insurance company
comes in picture when the claim petition is filed and by that
time the evidence can be created to convert a non-motor
accident (or even a non-accident) into a motor accident.
Evidence is also created of income levels so as to inflate the
quantum.

As a solution to this, the Delhi Police needs to create a
Website to which the Investigating Officer in the field can
connect and so can insurance companies from their own
computers.

The „information‟ sent by the Investigating Officer to this
Website – preferably on an electronic interactive form – will
include details such as: motor vehicle registration number,
chassis number, engine number, vehicle make, model, colour,
type, etc; particulars of the owner such as his address,
mobile telephone, occupation, etc.; driver‟s registered
address and driving licence number; the police station within
the jurisdiction of which the accident took place; description
of the spot where the accident occurred; the other persons
involved in the accident; brief cause of the accident;
casualties occurred; insurance policy number; particulars of
the insurance company, etc. Only as many as are available

FAO 842/2003 Page 12 of 17
at that time can be filled in. 1 The Investigating Officer‟s
mobile number and e-mail will also be entered.

Once the police starts placing this information on the web
(which it can do virtually automatically within one hour of the
accident) along with the time and location, and name of the
insurance company (even two or three names may be given),
the insurance company/ies can download this data (every
hour) and search through their own database. The moment
there is any matching / flagging, it can revert to the
concerned Police Station on e-mail and to the Central Office,
and even to the Investigating Officer.

Most of this exercise can be done by the computers
automatically which (in absence of exact match) will give out
(display) even particulars of similar vehicles in respect of
which policies have been issued. So done, there is no reason
why within a few hours of the accident, the insurance file
cannot be reached and contact with the Investigating Officer
made. The insurance companies can then depute their own
field-agent to join in the investigations.

The insurance companies will have to fine-tune their own
database of the policies which they have issued so that the
necessary search and correlation can be made almost
instantaneously. The idea is that in this computer day and
age, the insurance companies must perform their task with
diligence, and in the shortest of time get in touch with the AIO.
Thus, the insurer has no longer to wait for summons from the
MACT to know of the accident.

Third : The Delhi Police needs to prepare and make available to all
Investigating Officers:

               1       Motor Accident Investigation Manual;
               2       Comprehensive set of questionnaire forms;               and
               3       Instruction notes (as leaflets) for use of victims /
                       witnesses,

which the Investigating Officer can use for gathering
information on the spot and even distributing (the forms and
notes) to the victims / witnesses, and receiving information
from them.

More importantly, the Investigating Officer must also bestow
some attention on what could have prevented the accident
and prepare a note to that effect for being filed with the
Central Office.

Lastly The police could consider making available web-connected
(Fourth) mobile phones with camera which can take
photographs of the vehicle, number-plate,
chassis-number-plate, driver, victim and electronically
transmit these to the Central Police website / computer.

Ideally, alongside recording the statement of the witnesses in
the case diary (under Section 161 Cr.P.C., these can be
video-recorded at the site, and the CD preserved as part of the
case file.

1 Computer matching enables a few fields to be filled in and then it automatically shows
up reasonably complete groups / fields (as suggestions / options) which include what
was a possible error in the original keying-in.

FAO 842/2003 Page 13 of 17

In future, we can have palm tops to scan the licence and
thumb impression of the driver as also the thumb impression
of the victim/s together with high resolution photographs and
automatic GPS based location marker and time print.2

14. The aforesaid four suggestions of Mr. Arun Mohan, Senior

Advocate are very useful and there should be no difficulty in

implementation of the first three suggestions; though the fourth

suggestion may have to await action by the Government.

15. Mr. Arun Mohan has offered to provide the basic structure of

the forms which can then be developed by the Delhi Police and be

made part of the manual. The Delhi Police may also consult

Mr.Arun Mohan and the other members of the Committee for

drafting the manual.

16. The learned Additional Standing Counsel for Delhi Police

submits that the Delhi Police shall favourably consider the above

suggestions and shall incorporate them in their training to the

Investigating Officers.

17. The Delhi Police shall prepare a Motor Accident

Investigation Manual which shall incorporate the suggestions

given by Mr.Arun Mohan and shall place the same before this

Court.

18. It is hoped that the implementation of the Claims Tribunal

Agreed Procedure will start a new era in road accident

prevention, investigation and compensation. The successful

implementation of the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure shall

result in payment of compensation to the victims of the road

2 also stated as latitude and longitude as degrees, minutes and seconds
FAO 842/2003 Page 14 of 17
accidents within 120 days of the date of the accident. However,

the success of the Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure shall depend

upon the implementation of the scheme by the Delhi Police,

Insurance Companies, Claims Tribunal and Delhi Legal Service

Authority in its true letter and spirit. The Commissioner of Delhi

Police shall personally look into the selection of good officers and

proper training to them to ensure that there is no exploitation of

the victims of the road accidents. The list of the officers

responsible for implementation of this Scheme be placed before

this Court on 8th January, 2010. All Insurance Companies shall

appoint a Nodal Officer with adequate knowledge of the principles

for computation of compensation for successful implementation

of this Scheme. The list of Nodal Officers be placed before this

Court on 8th January, 2010. The Claims Tribunals and Delhi Legal

Services Authority shall ensure that just compensation is paid to

the victims of the road accidents within agreed time frame and

the quality of justice is not compromised.

19. Union of India as well as Government of NCT of Delhi are

directed to issue appropriate directions to their respective

hospitals instructing them to issue MLC and Post Mortem Report

within 15 days of the accident in respect of the accidents in Delhi

between 15th January, 2010 and 14th July, 2010. Government of

NCT of Delhi shall also issue directions to the registration

authorities in terms of the para 5(viii) above.

20. Mr. Gopal Subramaniam, Solicitor General of India has, on

being requested, assisted this Court in arriving at an amicable

FAO 842/2003 Page 15 of 17
solution for implementation of a time bound procedure for

settlement of Motor Accident Claim cases for a period of six

months as a pilot project. The learned Solicitor General has also

submitted that Central Government shall consider granting of

funds to the Delhi Police for creating special cell and

paraphernalia for handling of motor accident cases on request

being made by Delhi Police to the Central Government in this

regard.

21. The Ministry of Finance (Department of Insurance), Delhi

Police and all the Insurance Companies shall also consider giving

appropriate publicity to this scheme to bring awareness to the

general public who can take the benefit of the same. The

Director (Insurance) shall also consider nominating an officer for

due compliance of this scheme by all concerned.

22. The Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure along with the copy

of this order be sent to all Claims Tribunals through the Registrar

(Vigilance) of this Court.

23. Copy of this order be also sent to Delhi Legal Services

Authority. Delhi Legal Services Authority shall take steps to

familiarize the public about this scheme.

24. Copy of this order be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Road

Transport and Highways as well as the Expert Committee

appointed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,

through Mr. Atul Nanda, Standing Counsel for Union of India.

The Expert Committee may consider incorporating this Scheme in

their report to the Government.

FAO 842/2003 Page 16 of 17

25. Copy of this order be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of

Health of the Central Government as well as Government of NCT

of Delhi through their respective Standing Counsels for issuance

of appropriate instructions to their respective hospitals.

26. Copy of this order be given Dasti to the learned amicus

curiae, members of this Committee and the counsels for the

Insurance Companies.

J.R. MIDHA, J.

DECEMBER 16, 2009
aj

FAO 842/2003 Page 17 of 17