SC slams Centre for delay in cashless scheme for accident victims
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rapped the Centre over the delay in formulating a cashless medical treatment scheme for motor accident victims and summoned the secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport for an explanation.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan took objection that despite its January 8 order, the Centre did not comply with it.
"The time granted has expired on March 15, 2025. This is a serious breach and violation of not only orders of this court but also a violation of implementing very beneficial legislation. We direct the secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to appear on video conferencing and explain why the directions of this court were not complied with," the bench said.
Only when top government officers are summoned here they take the orders of the court seriously, it added.
Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee, representing the Centre, acknowledged the existence of "bottlenecks" during the proceedings.
The bench responded firmly, stating, "This is your own legislation. People are losing lives due to the absence of cashless treatment facilities. This is meant for the welfare of common citizens. We are serving you notice and will initiate contempt action. Instruct your secretary to appear and provide an explanation." The official has been directed by the Supreme Court to appear on April 28 for further clarification.
Additionally, the bench instructed the transport department secretary to issue written directives to all district magistrates, ensuring that claims related to undisclosed hit-and-run cases are uploaded to the General Insurance Council (GIC) portal.
On January 8, the Supreme Court instructed the Centre to develop a scheme for cashless medical treatment of motor accident victims during the "golden hour" period, as mandated by law.
Citing Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the court ordered the government to finalise the scheme by March 14, emphasising its potential to save numerous lives through timely medical intervention.
It highlighted the Centre's statutory obligation under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act to establish a cashless treatment scheme, underscoring that this provision upholds the right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.
The law mandates that insurance companies operating in India provide treatment to road accident victims, including during the golden hour, as per the scheme outlined under the MV Act. Despite the provision being effective since April 1, 2022, the government's failure to implement the scheme prompted the court's intervention.
The Centre proposed a draft scheme setting a maximum treatment cost of Rs 1.5 lakh and limiting coverage to seven days. These provisions faced criticism from the petitioner's counsel, who argued they failed to meet the need for comprehensive care.
The court noted that 921 claims under the hit-and-run compensation scheme were still pending as of July 31, 2024, due to missing documents. It directed the GIC to coordinate with claimants and address the issue. Furthermore, the GIC was instructed to expedite portal development and ensure compliance by March 14, 2025.
(inputs from PTI)