1 MAC No. 321 of 2019 2026:CGHC:21183 AFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 321 of 2019 1. Narsingh Kudshyam S/o Rambharosh Kudshyam, Aged About 49 Years; 2. Smt. Chandrika Kudshyam W/o Narsingh Kudshyam, Aged About 43 Years; 3. Priyanka Kudshyam D/o Narsingh Kudshyam, Aged About 23 Years; All are R/o Village Chindpal, PS Badgaon, Tahsil Pakhanjore, District- U.B. Kanker, Chhattisgarh..............(Claimants). ... Appellants versus 1. Sandeep Bhagat S/o Shindu Bhagat, Aged About 23 Years, R/o Narayanpur, Thana, Tahsil And District- Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh............(Driver And Owner). 2. National Insurance Co. Ltd. Through Branch Manager, 2nd Floor Mobin Mhal, Lalganga Shopping Mall, Raipur, Chhattisgarh............(Insurer). ... Respondents For Appellants :- Ms. Bhavika Kotecha, Advocate, appears on behalf of Mr. Parag Kotecha, Advocate. For Respondent No.1 :- Mr. Praveen K. Dhurandhar, Advocate. For Respondent No.2 :- Mr. R.N. Pusty with Mr. Akash Shrivastava, Advocates. Amicus Curiae :- Mr. Rahul Tamaskar, Government Advocate. ANKIT KUMAR SINGH Digitally signed by ANKIT KUMAR SINGH 2 MAC No. 321 of 2019 SB- Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal Order On Board 06.05.2026 1. This appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short “Act of 1988”) has been preferred by the appellants/claimants against the impugned award dated 07.12.2018 passed by the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bhanupratappur, District Uttar Bastar Kanker, Chhattisgarh (for short “Claims Tribunal”) in Claims Case No.14 of 2018, seeking enhancement in the amount of compensation, whereby learned Claims Tribunal has allowed the claimants’ application and awarded a sum of ₹50,000/- as compensation along with interest for death of Devesh Kudshyam in hit and run case. 2. Learned counsel for the parties are ad idem on the point that the present is a case of hit and run case and in that view of the matter, it is brought to notice of this Court that the Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in ‘hit and run case’ has formulated Scheme known as Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022 (for brevity ‘Scheme of 2022’), in which the compensation amount has been proposed to the tune of ₹2,00,000/- in case of death of any person resulting from a hit and run motor accident and ₹50,000/- in case of 3 MAC No. 321 of 2019 grievous hurt to any person resulting from a hit and run motor accident. The Scheme of 2022, provides for settlement of claims in a time-bound manner which states as under:- No. RT-11036/39/2022-MVL Government of India Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MVL Section) Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001 Dated, the 18th September, 2023 To, i. District Magistrate / Deputy Commissioner/ Collectors of all districts ii. Commissioner/Superintendent of Police of all districts Subject: Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022-regarding. Madam/Sir, I am directed to say that the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as amended vide Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, enhanced the compensation to be paid in respect of the death of, or grievous hurt to, persons resulting from hit and run motor accidents. 2. Accordingly, this Ministry vide G.S.R. 163(E) dt 25.02.2022 (copy enclosed) had published "Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022", in supersession of the Solatium Scheme, 1989, to provide the following compensation amounts: i. Rs. 2,00,000 in case of death of any person resulting from a hit and run motor accident. ii. Rs. 50,000 in case of grievous hurt to any person resulting from a hit and run motor accident. 3. The Scheme provides for settlement of claims in a time-bound manner. The Claims Enquiry Officer is required to convey his/her decision within one month of receipt of claim, after which the Claims Settlement Officer is provided with 15 days to sanction the claims and forward the sanction order to General Insurance (GI) Council with intimation to the concerned Motor Accident Claim Tribunal and Transport Commissioner. Subsequently, the transfer of compensation amount to the claimant is to be processed within a period of 15 days by Gl Council. An indicative diagram of the procedure (Annexure 1), along with the required Forms are enclosed. 4 MAC No. 321 of 2019 4. Further, a District Level Committee (composition in Annexure 2) is required to be constituted in each district and conduct meetings on a quarterly basis to undertake the following functions related to the implementation of the Scheme: i. To evaluate the progress of implementation of this scheme in the concerned District and take corrective steps, wherever necessary; ii. To submit a report on quarterly basis to the Standing Committee, including in electronic form and the report shall, inter alia, include month-wise statistics about the claim applications received, awarded pending and reasons for pendency iii. To keep close liaison with other authorities in the district so as to ensure that this scheme gets adequate publicity; iv. To provide guidance or clarifications to concerned authorities and claimants, wherever called for; and v. To raise awareness about the rights available to claimants and the provision of compensation under this scheme. 5. In order to facilitate the victims of hit and run motor accidents, it is requested that the Scheme be widely publicized in your respective districts to create awareness among the public. In this regard, other officials of the district administration may also be sensitized. An indicative poster to publicise the scheme at appropriate spots in district hospitals, police stations, DC/SP offices etc., is provided at Annexure 3. States / UTs are encouraged to publicise the scheme in local languages also to ensure wider dissemination. 6. Further, the District Level Committees may be expeditiously constituted and operationalized to undertake regular review of the implementation of the Scheme in your respective districts and to furnish quarterly reports to the Standing Committee on the same. 7. In case of any clarifications, the following nodal officer may please be contacted: Shri Inderjeet Singh Secretary General GI Council Tel: +91 9004945476 Email: inderjeets@gicouncil.in This issues with the approval of Competent Authority. Encls: as above Yours faithfully, Sd/- (S.K. Geeva) 5 MAC No. 321 of 2019 Under Secretary to the Government of India Tel: 011 23739074 Email: geeva.sk@nic.in Annexure 1 Claim Settlement procedure in case of Hit & Run accident victims as per Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022 Claimant 1. Form I (Application) with ID Proof. 2. Copy of the passbook of the Bank accont of the claimant 3. Copy of the cashless/treatment bill, if any, of the Hospital that treat the victim. 4. For IV (Undertaking) Claims Settlement Officer Claims Enquiry Officer Form II (Report) Sub -Divisional Officer, Tehsildar, or any officer in charge of a revenue sub-division of a Taluka to enquire & submit report with any other material documents/statement to show genuineness of the claim and also person who would receive on behalf of all legal heirs 1 month District Magistrate/Dy. Commisioner /Colletor/Officerin charge of the Revenue District 1. Form III (Order) 2. Form I & II with enclosers and Form IV 3. Bank details 15 days General Insurance Council Concerned MACT Concerned Tansport Commissioner GIC headquarters Transfer of Compensation within 15 days (with intimation to authorities copied in sanction order First AccidentReport Postmortem Report Injured victim or legal representative of deceased victim Email: hitandrunschemeclaims@gicouncil.in Postal address: 5th Floor, National Insurance Bldg; 14, J Tata Raoc, Churchgate, Mumbai, 400020 6 MAC No. 321 of 2019 Annexure 2 Composition of the District Level Committee S. No. Designation of Member Role 1. Claims Settlement Commissioner Chairperson 2. Claims Enquiry Officer, nominated by the State Government Member 3. Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police (Head Quarter) of the District Member 4. Chief Medical Officer of the District* Member 5. The Regional Transport Officer or any other officer of Motor Vehicles Department as nominated by the State Government* Member 6. Any member of the public or a voluntary organisation connected with road safety aspects as nominated by the Chairperson* Member 7. An officer nominated by the General Insurance Council Member-Secretary *The Term of office of the members nominated shall be determined by the State Government 3. Mr. Rahul Tamaskar, learned Government Advocate appears as amicus curiae, would submit that claim has to be made before the Claims Enquiry Officer/ Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue) and in the present case, the claim case has to be made before the Claims Enquiry Officer/Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Kanker, who has to submit the Enquiry Report before the Claims Settlement Commissioner who is required to sanction the claim and 7 MAC No. 321 of 2019 thereafter, the Sanction Order is forwarded to the General Insurance Council with intimation to the concerned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and Transport Commissioner. Subsequently, the compensation is transferred to the victim/claimant. 4. In view of the above Scheme of 2022, the present appeal stands disposed off and the claimants/appellants are at liberty to make application before the Claims Enquiry Officer/Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Kanker as per Scheme of 2022 who shall process the claim and make necessary enquiry and submit the enquiry report before the Claims Settlement Commissioner who, in turn, will forward the Sanction Order to the General Insurance Council for transfer of compensation to the victim/claimant. In the present case the accident occurred on 05.10.2017 in which Devesh Kudshyam died and the claimants are suffering from 8 years, therefore, the Claims Enquiry Officer/Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Kanker, is directed to expedite and conclude the enquiry expeditiously after filing of application by the claimants/appellants herein without further delay and I hope and trust the Claims Enquiry Officer/Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Kanker and Claim Settlement Commissioner i.e. the concerned District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner/Collector will take prompt steps to ensure that the compensation is paid to the claimants/ appellants herein expeditiously within a period of 8 MAC No. 321 of 2019 60 days from the date of filing the application as provided under the Scheme of 2022. The application of the claimants/appellants herein will be decided by the Claims Enquiry Officer/Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Kanker, without being prejudiced by the impugned award as the impugned order is being set aside. 5. Mr. Rahul Tamaskar, learned Government Advocate appears as amicus curiae, is requested to inform concerned Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue)/Claims Enquiry Officer and Claims Settlement Commissioner/Collector as the claimants are suffering from last 8 years. 6. This Court renders a word of appreciation to Mr. Rahul Tamaskar, Government Advocate, for his valuable assistance as amicus curiae in the present case. 7. Certified Copy as per rules. Sd/- (Sanjay K. Agrawal) Judge Ankit