In motor vehicle compensation claims in which the fault of the driver concerned is not pleaded, such claims are filed under Section 164 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 (MV Act).
The issue of negligence, wrongful act, or default of the driver of the concerned vehicle cannot be pleaded in such claims.
Earlier, such claims were filed under section 140 of the M V act. But the Section has been omitted and substituted with the Section 164 of the MV Act, which came into force on 1st April 2022 as per the 2019 amendment of the act.
The Section 164 provides for a payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh in the case of death or Rs 50,000/ in the case grievous hurt.
If the claimant prefers a higher compensation, he/she is bound to file the claim under Section 166 of the MV Act where fault of the party can be pleaded and the compensation will be granted based on the norms in force in such cases.
Any amount of compensation paid under any other law will be deducted from the amount of compensation payable under the Section 164 of the act.
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