Case Title: V.K. Bhasi v. State of Kerala & Anr.
The Solatium Scheme of 1989, created by the Central Government in accordance with Section 163(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, which provides for compensation in hit-and-run accidents, has lately been the subject of a thorough study by the Kerala High Court.
The general public, according to Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, is unaware of the Scheme or the appropriate party to contact in order to make an application for receiving compensation in "hit and run" incidents.
"A reading of Sections 161 to 163 of the Act, 1988 and the Solatium Scheme, 1989, will show that it is a complete code and a time limit is also prescribed for paying the compensation in 'hit and run motor accident cases. The victims of hit-and-run motor accident cases should invoke the above provisions and the statutory compensation available to them should be utilised," the bench said while explaining the Scheme in detail.
In the present instance, the petitioner was hurt in a "hit and run" collision. After an inquiry, the Kalamassery Police station notified the complainant that they had been unable to identify the car and that a notice was issued outlining the situation. The petitioner then addressed the relevant authorities to request compensation under the 1989 Solatium Scheme. However, the same received no answer. In light of this, the present writ petition was submitted in an effort to obtain a writ of mandamus ordering the State of Kerala to designate Claim Enquiry Officers in each Taluk in order to resolve claims under Section 161 of the MV Act. The petitioner also asked for payment within a deadline.
The petitioner's attorneys claimed that the respondents had not taken any action to pay out the compensation or designate a claims enquiry officer as per the scheme.
On the other side, the respondents, who were represented by Government Pleader Jimmy George, asserted that the Solatium Scheme, 1989, which governs the matter, appoints the District Collector as the Claims Settlement Officer and the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) as the Claims Enquiry Officer. The Government Pleader further argued that the petitioner had failed to submit a Form I application for compensation as required by the Scheme and that the District Collector had instructed the Sub-Collector, Fort Kochi, to investigate the matter and submit a report in the appropriate format along with the Form 1 application. The GP stated in front of the Court that required instructions will be made once the abovementioned RDO report was received.
Findings of the Court:
The Court noted that specific rules for compensation in cases of hit-and-run motor vehicle accidents are covered under Section 161 of the Act, 1988. In particular, it discovered that under Section 161 (3), a fixed sum of Rs. 25,000 would be paid as compensation for any person's death resulting from a hit-and-run motor accident, and a fixed sum of Rs. 12,500 would be granted for any person's grievous injury resulting from a hit-and-run motor accident.
Additionally, Section 163 states that the Central Government may create a plan by publishing a notice in the Official Gazette that outlines the General Insurance Corporation's administration of the plan, the form, timing, and officers or authorities to whom applications for compensation may be made, as well as the process those officers or authorities must follow to consider and make decisions on such applications. The Solatium Scheme, 1989 was created by the Central Government in accordance with this clause.
The Court also discovered that the Scheme's Clause 20 specifies the claim application process. Clause 21 of the Solatium Scheme also outlines the process the Claims Enquiry Officer must follow, and Clause 22 outlines the approval of claims. The Court, therefore, concluded that a combined reading of Clauses 20, 21, and 22 reveals that the victim of a "hit and run" motor vehicle accident may submit a Form I of the Solatium Scheme 1989 application for compensation, along with a duly completed Form II discharge receipt and Form V undertaking, to the Claims Enquiry Officer, who is the Revenue Divisional Officer of the jurisdiction where the accident occurs.
The Claims Enquiry Officer will hold an investigation into claims resulting from hit-and-run motor vehicle incidents after receiving the claims application and obtaining a copy of the FIR, inquest report, postmortem report, or certificate of injury, as the case may be, from the relevant authorities. The Claims Enquiry Officer has a responsibility to turn in the report in Form III, the discharge receipt in Form II, the undertaking in Form V, as well as his own suggestions.
After receiving the report from the Claims Enquiry Officer, the Claims Settlement Commissioner shall sanction the claim as soon as possible, but no later than fifteen days after receiving the report and shall communicate the sanctioning order in Form IV to the Nominated Officer of the Insurance Company along with the duly completed discharge receipt in Form II and the undertaking in Form V with a copy to all authorities concerned mentioned in Clause 22.
The Court additionally determined that the District Collector of the jurisdiction where the accident occurred serves as the Claims Settlement Commissioner and that the Revenue Divisional Officer of the jurisdiction is the Claims Enquiry Officer in the current case. The District Collector had taken the appropriate actions and had instructed the RDO to get the application in the proper form, even though the petitioner had not submitted it in Form I, according to the Government Pleader's argument, which was also noted by the Court. Given these facts, the Court ordered that the petitioner, in this case, would be free to provide the Claims Enquiry Officer with a proper application, as per Form I of the Solatium Scheme, 1989, along with a duly filled-out discharge receipt in Form II and an undertaking, as per Form V, within a month of receiving a copy of the judgement.
The Claims Enquiry Officer was further instructed to complete the necessary research in accordance with Clause 21 of the Scheme and submit a report to the Claims Settlement Commissioner as soon as possible, within one month of the date of receipt of the petitioner's Form I application. The Claims Settlement Commissioner was further instructed to review the report and issue any necessary orders within 15 days of the date of receipt.