The Supreme Court on April 9, 2025, sternly reprimanded the Central Government for not framing and implementing a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the crucial “golden hour” period, as required under Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
“According to us this is a very serious breach and violation of not only orders of this court, but it is a case of failure to implement a very beneficial provision in the statute,”
remarked the bench, comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
The Court expressed its deep displeasure over the government's failure and directed the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to appear personally via video conferencing on April 28, 2025.
“We direct the Secretary of Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways to personally remain present through VC on 28th April 2025 to explain the default on part of the central government.”
This development follows the Court's earlier directive issued on January 8, 2025, instructing the Centre to finalize the scheme by March 14, 2025, and file an affidavit detailing its implementation by March 21, 2025. The Court had stressed the urgency of the matter, stating that the scheme was vital to save lives during the golden hour after accidents.
As of April 9, the deadline had lapsed, prompting the Court to issue a stern warning.
“We only directed you to implement your own statute. We are making it very clear that we will issue notice of contempt also if we find that no progress is made. People are losing their lives because there is no treatment,”
Justice Oka stated, further warning of contempt proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act if the Centre fails to act.
Responding to the Court, the counsel for the Union of India acknowledged the delay, citing “some bottlenecks”. Justice Oka, however, emphasized:
“We have seen from our long experience, only when we get top government officials here then they take the orders of the court seriously. Otherwise they won't take it.”
Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act mandates the Central Government to introduce a cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims during the golden hour — defined under Section 2(12-A) as the first hour following traumatic injury when timely treatment is most critical. Although this section came into force on April 1, 2022, no such scheme has been implemented yet.
The matter was raised through a writ petition by Dr. S. Rajaseekaran, Chairman and Head of Orthopaedic Surgery at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore. Advocate Kishan Chand Jain also filed an interlocutory application demanding the immediate implementation of Section 162.
In addition, the Supreme Court reviewed pending claims related to hit-and-run cases. Citing its order dated January 8, 2025, the Court noted that 921 claims were still pending with the General Insurance Council (GIC) as of July 31, 2024. The GIC has been directed to submit updated data on these pending applications.
The Court further instructed the Chief Secretary of the Transport Department to issue formal directions to all district magistrates for uploading the details of hit-and-run claims on the GIC portal. Any issues faced in this process, including technical difficulties with the portal, should be immediately reported to the GIC.
Amicus Curiae Gaurav Agarwal informed the Court that, as per its order dated January 12, 2024, certain State Legal Services Authorities have been conducting regular meetings to facilitate the claims process.
As per that January 2024 order, the Court had mandated the formation of Monitoring Committees in each district. These Committees are tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Victim Compensation Scheme. Each committee comprises:
- The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (Convener),
- A Claims Enquiry Officer nominated by the State Government,
- A police officer of at least the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police nominated by the District Superintendent of Police.
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These Committees are required to meet at least once every two months to monitor compliance.
All Legal Services Authorities must submit their compliance reports by July 15, 2025. The GIC is also required to file an affidavit by the same date, detailing the progress in resolving claims and adhering to the Court's orders.
The Court had previously observed a low rate of claim settlements under the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022. It directed the GIC to coordinate with claims officers to resolve any deficiencies and speed up the process. The Council was also asked to complete a digital portal for claims processing and report its status by March 14, 2025.
Case no. – WP (C) No. 295/2012
Case Title – S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India and Ors.
