Motor accident claim tribunal (MACT): claims, compensation and appeals

MACT claims we handle

Death claims for the family

A claim for loss of dependency by the spouse, children and parents of a person killed in a road accident, worked out on the Supreme Court's method set out further down this page.

Injury and disability claims

Medical costs, lost earnings and, where the injury leaves a permanent disability, the loss of future earning capacity, proved through the treating doctor's evidence.

Hit-and-run and uninsured vehicles

The fixed payment under Section 161 where the vehicle is never traced, and claims against the owner personally where the vehicle had no valid insurance.

Insurance company MACT defence

For insurers, fleet operators and vehicle owners: checking the claim, policy defences and settlement where liability is clear.

MACT appeals in the High Court

Appeals under Section 173 against awards that are too low or too high, and cross-objections, in the Bombay High Court.

City pages and guides

For the Mumbai tribunal, see MACT claims in Mumbai and our Mumbai MACT filing guide. For what to do in the first days after an accident, read the step-by-step accident claim guide. City notes: Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru.

How we approach a MACT claim

Most awards are cut for the same reasons: income that was never proved, a disability figure the doctor never explained, a legal heir left out, or police papers with a wrong vehicle number. We deal with those early, while witnesses can still be found and records can still be corrected.

For injured people and families

• Read the police papers first and get errors corrected while that is still easy
• Choose the tribunal under Section 166(2) and file within the six-month limit
• Build the income evidence: salary slips, returns, bank statements, business records
• Prepare the doctor who assessed the disability to give evidence on what it does to your work
• Work out the claim on the Supreme Court method before any offer is considered
• Follow the award through to deposit, release of the money and, if needed, appeal

For insurers, fleet operators and owners

The aim is an award that rests on proof. We verify the accident and the vehicle's involvement, raise policy defences such as an unlicensed driver or use outside the permit, test income and disability evidence in cross-examination, and settle early where liability is plain, which stops interest running. Where the insurer pays the victim despite a policy breach, we seek a pay-and-recover direction against the owner, a remedy the Supreme Court approved in National Insurance Co v Swaran Singh (2004).

MACT case procedure, stage by stage

1. Police papers. The FIR, spot panchnama, vehicle inspection report, the driving licence and the vehicle's registration and insurance. Under the rules in force since 2022, the police send a first accident report to the tribunal within 48 hours and a detailed accident report within 90 days.
2. Claim petition. Filed with medical records, income proof and, for a death, the post-mortem report and proof of the legal heirs. The owner, driver and insurer are made respondents. Under Section 166(4) the tribunal also treats the detailed accident report as a claim application.
3. The insurer's response. The insurer may make a settlement offer under Section 149, or file a written statement raising its defences.
4. Evidence. Claimants file affidavits and are cross-examined. In injury cases the doctor usually has to give evidence; a disability certificate on its own is often not enough.
5. Award. The tribunal fixes just compensation under Section 168 and interest under Section 171. Part of a large award is often kept in fixed deposits, and the rest is paid through a bank account; several banks offer a MACT claims savings account for this.
6. Appeal, if needed. Either side can appeal to the High Court under Section 173 within ninety days.

A contested claim usually takes one to three years at the tribunal. Many settle earlier at a Lok Adalat. Before you accept any offer, have the compensation worked out on the method below, because a quick settlement cannot easily be reopened.

Where we work: Sanpada office and online

We work from Office 219, Haware Intelligentia Park, Sector-24, Sanpada-Turbhe Road, Navi Mumbai 400783, and act before the tribunals that hear Mumbai and Navi Mumbai claims, with appeals in the Bombay High Court. Meetings at the office are by appointment, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM.

For an accident elsewhere, we read the police papers and medical records online, advise on where to file under Section 166(2), work out the compensation and draft the claim. A family in Mumbai whose relative died on a highway in another state can usually file in Mumbai, where they live. If your claim must run before a tribunal in another city, we tell you at the first consultation how hearings will be handled there and what that costs. Call +91 8291849797 or +91 9167710454, or write to info@vivs.in.

What is a motor accident claim tribunal?

A motor accident claim tribunal is a body set up by a state government under Section 165 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 to decide compensation for road accidents involving motor vehicles. Its member must be, or have been, a High Court judge or a District Judge, or be qualified to be appointed as one. Large cities often have several tribunals; elsewhere district judges are commonly notified to sit as the tribunal.

The tribunal has the powers of a civil court to take evidence on oath, summon witnesses and call for documents (Section 169). It follows a simpler procedure than a civil suit, and under Section 168 it must award compensation that is just, which can be more than the amount claimed.

Is a MACT case civil or criminal?

Civil. The criminal case against the driver runs separately before a magistrate under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: Section 106(1) for causing death by negligence (earlier Section 304A IPC), Section 281 for rash driving (earlier Section 279 IPC) and Section 125 for endangering life or causing hurt (earlier Sections 336 to 338 IPC). The two cases share papers, but one does not decide the other. The driver can be acquitted and the claim still succeed, because the tribunal decides on the balance of probabilities.

Fault-based claims and fixed sums under the amended Act

Most claims are fault-based claims under Section 166. You show that the accident was caused by the negligent driving of the vehicle, and the tribunal assesses your full loss. This is the route that pays for lost income, future earnings and long-term care.

Section 164, in force from 1 April 2022, gives a fixed sum without any need to prove negligence: Rs 5 lakh for death and Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous hurt, payable by the owner or insurer. It replaced the old no-fault payment under Section 140 and the structured-formula claim under Section 163A, both now gone. A guide that still tells you to apply under Section 140 describes the old law.

The two routes interact. If you accept a Section 164 payment through the insurer's settlement process under Section 149, your claim petition before the tribunal lapses. So the choice between the fixed sum and a full claim should be made with the numbers in front of you, before anything is signed.

Hit-and-run cases, and cashless treatment

Where the vehicle is never identified, Section 161 and the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022 provide Rs 2 lakh for death and Rs 50,000 for grievous hurt. This is claimed through the claims enquiry officer of the area, not before the tribunal. If the vehicle is traced later, a regular claim can still be made, and the hit-and-run payment is adjusted. Separately, Section 162 provides for cashless treatment of accident victims, and a central scheme now pays designated hospitals for treatment for a limited period after the accident, so ask the hospital about it at admission.

Who can file a MACT claim, where, and by when

Under Section 166(1) a claim can be made by the injured person, the owner of damaged property, the legal representatives of a person who died, or an agent authorised by any of them. Every legal representative must be before the tribunal, so any who do not join as claimants are added as respondents.

Under Section 166(2) the claimant picks the tribunal: where the accident happened, where the claimant lives or carries on business, or where the defendant lives. That choice matters when the accident was far from home, because every date means a trip.

Section 166(3), in force since 1 April 2022, says a claim will not be entertained unless it is made within six months of the accident. Do not plan around arguments that the limit can be relaxed: file within six months. Treatment does not have to be finished first, since medical evidence can be added as it develops.

How is MACT compensation calculated?

For a death, the tribunal works out the family's loss of dependency on the method the Supreme Court settled in Sarla Verma v Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) and National Insurance Co v Pranay Sethi (2017):

1. Take the deceased's annual income, after income tax.
2. Add future prospects. For a person in a permanent job: 50 per cent if under 40, 30 per cent from 40 to 50, 15 per cent from 50 to 60. For the self-employed or those on a fixed wage: 40, 25 and 10 per cent for the same age bands.
3. Deduct the deceased's own personal expenses: one-half for a bachelor; for a married person, one-third with two or three dependants, one-fourth with four to six, one-fifth with more than six.
4. Multiply by the figure for the deceased's age, from the table below.
5. Add the fixed heads: loss of estate, funeral expenses and consortium, set in 2017 at Rs 15,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 40,000 and raised by 10 per cent every three years. After Magma General Insurance v Nanu Ram (2018), consortium goes separately to the spouse, each child and each parent.

An illustration, not a prediction for any case: a married 34-year-old in a permanent job earning Rs 30,000 a month after tax, survived by a spouse and two children. Annual income is Rs 3,60,000. Adding 50 per cent future prospects gives Rs 5,40,000, and deducting one-third for personal expenses leaves Rs 3,60,000. Multiplied by 16, that is Rs 57.6 lakh for loss of dependency, before the fixed heads and interest.

Injury claims

For injuries, the tribunal awards medical expenses, future treatment, earnings lost during treatment, pain and suffering, loss of amenities and, where there is permanent disability, loss of future earning capacity. In Raj Kumar v Ajay Kumar (2011) the Supreme Court explained that what counts is the effect of the disability on the person's ability to earn, not the medical percentage alone. A leg injury rated at a modest percentage can end a delivery rider's work entirely.

MACT appeal to the High Court, and review of an award

An appeal against an award lies to the High Court under Section 173, within ninety days of the award; the High Court can admit a late appeal if there was sufficient cause. An owner or insurer who appeals must first deposit Rs 25,000 or half the amount awarded, whichever is less. No appeal lies where the amount in dispute is less than Rs 1 lakh. Claimants can appeal for higher compensation, and a respondent can file cross-objections. Appeals from awards in Maharashtra go to the Bombay High Court.

Can a motor accident claims tribunal award be reviewed?

Only within narrow limits. The tribunal can correct clerical or arithmetical mistakes, and an award passed without hearing a party who was never served can be challenged before it. A wrong decision on the facts or the law is corrected by an appeal under Section 173, not by asking the tribunal to think again.