In a historic judgment on Wednesday (January 8, 2025), the Supreme Court directed the Central Government to formulate a policy regarding ‘cashless’ treatment for motor accident victims during the ‘golden hour’ period specified in the law. This means that the victim should be given treatment within one hour of the injury, so that the danger can be avoided.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih cited Section 162(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and ordered the government to submit a policy by March 14 that would provide prompt medical care to accident victims. Can save the lives of many people. ‘Golden Hour’, as defined under Section 2(12-A) of the Motor Vehicles Act, means the period of one hour after a serious injury in which immediate medical intervention can avert the risk of death.
The bench said, ‘We direct the Central Government to formulate a policy in terms of sub-section (2) of Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act as soon as possible and in any case, by March 14, 2025. No further time will be given (in this regard). A copy of the policy has been directed to be placed on record on or before March 21 along with an affidavit from the concerned officer of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways stating the manner of its implementation.
The court said, ‘As is clear from the definition, the first hour after serious injury in a motor accident is the most important. In many cases, if necessary medical treatment is not provided within the ‘golden hour’, the injured may die. Section 162 is important in the current scenario, where motor accident cases are continuously increasing. Justice Oka, who wrote the judgment, underlined the importance of providing immediate medical care during this critical period and said delays due to financial concerns or procedural hurdles often cost lives.
The Supreme Court said that it is the statutory responsibility of the Central Government to formulate a policy for ‘cashless’ treatment under Section 162 and the purpose of this provision is to maintain and protect the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court said, ‘When a person gets injured in a motor accident, it is possible that his near and dear ones may not be around. In such a situation there is no one to help him. However, the injured person should receive necessary medical treatment during the ‘golden hour’, as this is essential for his survival. Every human being’s life is precious. Despite this, we find that necessary treatment is not received during the ‘golden hour’ due to various reasons.
According to the bench, it is said that the hospital staff often wait for the arrival of the police and are worried about the payment of the amount spent on treatment, which could be high. The Supreme Court said that therefore the law provides for insurance companies providing general insurance in India to provide medical expenses during the ‘golden hour’ for the treatment of road accident victims as per the policy made under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The bench underlined that this provision is applicable from April 1, 2022, yet the government has not yet implemented it, due to which the court had to intervene. The central government had submitted a draft concept note outlining a proposed policy, which included a maximum treatment cost of Rs 1.5 lakh and only seven days of treatment. However, the counsel appearing for the petitioner criticized these rules and argued that they fail to address the need for comprehensive care.
The Supreme Court directed the Central Government to address these concerns while finalizing the policy. It highlighted in the judgment the existence of a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund set up under Section 164-B, which can be used for ‘cashless’ treatment of accident victims. The court said that the General Insurance Council (GIC) was entrusted with the task of developing a portal to settle compensation claims in cases related to ‘hit-and-run’ and to streamline the process.
The bench said the portal will enable uploading of required documents, informing states about deficiencies and reducing delays in payment of claims. The judgment said that 921 claims under the ‘Hit-and-Run’ compensation scheme were pending till July 31, 2024 due to lack of documents, hence the GIC has been directed to coordinate with the claimants and resolve the issue. GIC has also been directed to expedite the development of the portal and submit the compliance report by March 14, 2025.
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