Reply to an MACT claim (for owners, drivers and insurers)

What this is

Someone injured in a road accident, or the family of someone who died, has filed a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), the special tribunal that decides accident compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. You are named in it, usually as the driver, the owner of the vehicle, or its insurer. The tribunal has sent you a notice.

Your reply to the claim is called a written statement: your account of what happened and your answer to each thing the claimant says. The tribunal hears all the parties, holds an inquiry (it takes evidence and decides the facts), and makes an award saying how much compensation is just and how much each of the insurer, owner or driver must pay (Section 168).

This guide is written for owners and drivers. The insurer's defences are set out below because they decide who finally pays. If you are the person claiming, see MACT claim petition instead.

When it applies

Who counts as the owner. The owner is the person in whose name the vehicle stands registered. For a vehicle on hire-purchase, lease or loan against the vehicle (hypothecation), it is the person in possession under that agreement (Section 2(30)).

Why insurance matters. No one may use a motor vehicle in a public place without insurance against third-party risks — liability to other people for death, injury or damage (Section 146). The policy must cover that liability (Section 147). Where a certificate of insurance has been issued and the insurer had notice of the claim through the tribunal, the insurer must pay the award against the person it insured, even if it is entitled to cancel the policy, unless one of the defences in Section 150(2) applies (Section 150).

If the vehicle was sold with its policy, the insurance is treated as transferred to the buyer from the date of transfer, and the buyer must apply to the insurer within thirty days to record the change (Section 157).

The insurer's defences are limited to those in Section 150(2):

• a breach of certain policy conditions: use for hire or reward without a permit, use for racing or speed testing, use for a purpose the permit does not allow, a two-wheeler used without a side-car where the policy requires one, driving by a person not duly licensed or disqualified, or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• a condition excluding injury caused by war, riot or civil commotion;
• a policy obtained by hiding or misstating a material fact; or
• the premium not having been received.

If the insurer proves one of these, the owner may be left to bear the award. Courts have held that in some such cases the insurer can be told to pay the claimant first and recover the money from the owner. This is where the owner's own papers — the licence, the permit, the premium receipt — matter most.

The fixed-sum claim. Some claims are made under Section 164, which makes the owner or insurer pay a fixed sum for a death or grievous hurt. In such a claim the claimant does not have to prove anyone's fault (Section 164(2)), so a defence that the driver was not careless does not answer it.

The steps and the timeline

Day 0 — the notice arrives. Read the date on it: the day you must appear or file your answer. Keep the envelope. Each state's tribunal rules set the procedure, and the tribunal fixes the time for your written statement. If you do not appear, the tribunal can go ahead without hearing your side.

The same week — tell your insurer in writing. The driver and the owner must give the insurer written information about the accident: the policy number and period, the date, time and place, the people injured or killed, and the driver's name and licence particulars (Section 134). If you did not do this after the accident, do it now, and enclose a copy of the notice. If the claimant does not know who insured the vehicle, you must tell the tribunal whether it was insured and with which company (Section 150(6)).

Before the date — the written statement. Your advocate prepares it with you. It usually covers:

• whether the vehicle was involved at all, and who was driving it;
• your account of how the accident happened, and anything the claimant did that caused or added to it;
• the insurance: the insurer, the policy number and period, and that it was in force on the date of the accident;
• the driver's licence, and for a transport vehicle the permit and fitness certificate;
• the amounts claimed, including any income, medical costs or dependency that is not shown by the papers.

If the owner fails to contest a claim, or there is collusion — a secret understanding — between the claimant and the person claimed against, the tribunal can bring in the insurer as a party to contest it (Section 170).

The hearings — evidence. The tribunal may follow a summary procedure — a simpler, faster procedure than a civil trial — and has the powers of a civil court to take evidence on oath, summon witnesses and order documents to be produced (Section 169). The claimant's witnesses are examined and can be cross-examined by your advocate; you and the driver may be examined in turn.

The award. The tribunal decides the amount it finds just and says who must pay it (Section 168).

• Copies of the award must reach the parties within 15 days.
• Whoever must pay has to deposit the full amount within 30 days of the award being announced, as the tribunal directs.
• If it is not paid, the tribunal can enforce the award like a civil court decree for money (Section 169).

How long it takes. The tribunal is to try to decide a claim within twelve months of receiving it, and record reasons if it cannot (Section 168). That is an aim, not a deadline.

Appeal. Anyone unhappy with the award can appeal to the High Court within 90 days (Section 173). The person who has to pay must first deposit twenty-five thousand rupees or half the amount awarded, whichever is less. No appeal lies where the amount in dispute is less than one lakh rupees.

Documents needed

• The tribunal's notice and the full claim petition with its documents.
• The vehicle's registration certificate.
• The insurance policy, the certificate of insurance and the premium receipt.
• The driver's licence; for a transport vehicle, the permit and fitness certificate.
• The pollution-under-control certificate.
• Your letter to the insurer, and its reply.
• The FIR, the charge papers and any orders in the criminal case.
• Photographs, repair estimates, and the names of anyone who saw the accident.
• If the vehicle was sold: the sale papers and the transfer application.

What it costs

• Fees at the tribunal. Set by each state's rules. Your advocate will tell you what applies.
• The advocate's fee. It varies with the city, the tribunal and the case. The advocate quotes their own fee for your matter before you pay anything.

What the advocate does

• Reads the claim and the police papers, and makes sure the insurer is a party with the policy before the tribunal.
• Drafts and files your written statement within the time the tribunal allows.
• Cross-examines the claimant's witnesses, leads your evidence, and answers any policy defence the insurer raises.
• Advises on settlement, the award, the deposit and an appeal.

An independent advocate from our panel can take it on. They review your papers and quote their fee before you pay. eMunshi is a technology platform, not a law firm; the advocate you choose represents you.

Is there a document to send first?

Only one: the written information to your insurer described above. The written statement itself must be filed by the advocate who will appear for you. If you want to talk it through before instructing one, a 30-minute call with an independent advocate starts at ₹999.

Mistakes that cost owners and drivers

• Ignoring the notice because "the insurance will handle it".
• Never telling the insurer in writing, and never checking that it is a party. The Act requires the written information (Section 134), and an insurer that had no notice of the claim through the tribunal is not bound to pay the award (Section 150(2)).
• Letting the policy, licence or permit papers go missing. They are your answer to the insurer's defences.
• Telling a different story in the criminal case and before the tribunal.
• Missing the 30-day deposit, or the 90-day appeal.