Motor Accident Compensation Claim Petition Format under Sections 164 and 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

A person injured in a motor accident, the owner of damaged property, or the legal representatives of a deceased victim may seek compensation before the competent Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), subject to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the applicable State rules.

Important legal update: Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been omitted. The present statutory no-fault compensation provision is Section 164. Accordingly, an old form titled as an application under Sections 140 and 166 should not be used without updating the statutory references.

On this page

Current legal position
Who may file a claim
Where the claim may be filed
Documents commonly required
Illustrative MACT claim petition format
Affidavit and verification
MS Word format

Current legal position

Section 164 - no-fault compensation: Section 164 provides fixed compensation in cases of death or grievous hurt arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. The statutory amount is Rs. 5,00,000 in case of death and Rs. 2,50,000 in case of grievous hurt. For a claim under this provision, the claimant is not required to plead or establish wrongful act, neglect or default.

Section 166 - application for compensation: Section 166 provides the principal claim-petition route before the Claims Tribunal for compensation arising from an accident covered by Section 165. The claim may be made by the injured person, the owner of damaged property, the legal representatives of a deceased victim, or a duly authorised agent, as applicable.

Section 168 - award of just compensation: After notice and inquiry, the Claims Tribunal may determine the amount of compensation which appears to it to be just and specify the person or persons to whom it is payable.

Limitation under Section 166(3): The statutory text introduced with effect from 1 April 2022 states that an application is not to be entertained unless made within six months of the accident. However, the constitutional and legal issues concerning this provision are pending before the Supreme Court. By interim orders in the connected proceedings, Tribunals and High Courts have been directed not to dismiss claim petitions merely as barred by the limitation in Section 166(3), pending final adjudication. Claimants should nevertheless file without delay and obtain current legal advice where limitation is in issue.

Who may file a motor accident compensation claim?

Depending on the nature of the accident and loss, an application under Section 166 may be filed by:

the person who sustained bodily injury;
the owner of property damaged in the accident;
all or any of the legal representatives where death resulted from the accident; or
a duly authorised agent of the injured person or legal representatives.

Where all legal representatives of a deceased victim do not join as claimants, the application should be made for the benefit of all legal representatives and the non-joining legal representatives should ordinarily be impleaded as respondents, in accordance with Section 166.

Where may the claim petition be filed?

Subject to the current statutory text and applicable State rules, a Section 166 claim may be filed before the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction over the area where the accident occurred, where the claimant resides or carries on business, or where the defendant resides.

Documents commonly filed with a MACT claim

The exact filing requirements vary by State rules and Tribunal practice. Commonly relevant documents include:

memo of parties and claim petition;
FIR, police accident report and related police papers, where available;
medical records, discharge summary, disability certificate and medical bills in injury cases;
post-mortem report and death certificate in fatal accident cases, where applicable;
proof of age, identity and address;
proof of occupation and income, including salary records, ITRs or business records where relevant;
vehicle registration, driving licence, permit and insurance particulars, where available;
proof of dependency and legal-representative status in death cases;
affidavit, list of documents, index and vakalatnama where represented by an advocate; and
such forms, reports and documents as the applicable State Motor Vehicles Rules or MACT directions require.

Illustrative MACT claim petition format

This specimen preserves the practical structure of the earlier format but updates the principal statutory references. Local MACT forms and State rules should be checked before filing.

BEFORE THE MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS TRIBUNAL AT __________

CLAIM PETITION NO. __________ OF 20__

IN THE MATTER OF:

Mr./Ms. ______________________________
Address: ____________________________

CLAIMANT(S)

VERSUS

1. Mr./Ms. ___________________________
Driver of vehicle no. ________________

RESPONDENT NO. 1

2. Mr./Ms. ___________________________
Owner of vehicle no. _________________

RESPONDENT NO. 2

3. __________________ Insurance Company Ltd.
Policy particulars: ___________________

RESPONDENT NO. 3

POLICE STATION: __________________

APPLICATION FOR COMPENSATION UNDER SECTION 166 OF THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT, 1988 AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, CLAIM UNDER SECTION 164

S. No.	Particulars	Details
1	Name and parentage of the injured/deceased person	________________
2	Full residential address	________________
3	Age/date of birth	________________
4	Occupation/profession	________________
5	Name and address of employer, if applicable	________________
6	Monthly/annual income and supporting proof	________________
7	Income-tax particulars, where relevant	________________
8	Date, time and place of accident	________________
9	Brief facts and manner of accident	________________
10	Police station, FIR/DD/GD number and date	________________
11	Status of victim at the time of accident: occupant/pedestrian/driver/other	________________
12	Nature of injuries and disability, if any	________________
13	Hospital/medical practitioner details	________________
14	Period of treatment and medical expenditure	________________
15	Registration number and type of offending vehicle	________________
16	Name and address of vehicle owner	________________
17	Name and address of driver	________________
18	Name, address and policy particulars of insurer	________________
19	Whether any claim/intimation has been lodged with owner or insurer and result	________________
20	Name and address of claimant(s)	________________
21	Relationship of claimant(s) with deceased, where applicable	________________
22	Particulars of dependants/legal representatives, where applicable	________________
23	Amount of compensation claimed and broad basis	Loss of income/dependency, medical expenses, disability, pain and suffering, future treatment, loss of amenities, funeral expenses, consortium and other permissible heads, as applicable.
24	Police/accident information report and vehicle records annexed, where available	________________
25	Affidavit(s) and witness material annexed as required by applicable rules	________________
26	List of documents annexed and indexed	________________
27	Any other information necessary for proper adjudication	________________

Prayer

It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Tribunal may be pleased to award just and reasonable compensation to the claimant(s), together with appropriate interest and costs, against the person or persons found liable in accordance with law.

Where the facts and law permit a claim under Section 164, the claimant(s) may also seek the statutory compensation available under that provision, subject to the applicable statutory scheme and consequences.

Any other or further relief which this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case may also be granted.

CLAIMANT(S)

THROUGH COUNSEL
____________________, Advocate

Place: __________
Date: __________

Verification and supporting affidavit

Verification

I, __________________, the above-named claimant, do hereby verify that the contents of paragraphs ______ to ______ of the claim petition are true and correct to my knowledge and belief, and that the legal submissions are based on advice received and believed to be correct. No material fact has been concealed.

Verified at __________ on this ______ day of __________ 20__.

CLAIMANT / DEPONENT

BEFORE THE MOTOR ACCIDENT CLAIMS TRIBUNAL AT __________

CLAIM PETITION NO. __________ OF 20__

AFFIDAVIT

I, __________________, aged about ____ years, resident of __________________, do hereby solemnly affirm and state as follows:

1. I am the claimant/deponent in the accompanying claim petition and am well acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case.

2. The accompanying claim petition has been prepared under my instructions. Its factual contents are true and correct to my knowledge and belief, and the legal submissions are based on advice received and believed to be correct.

3. The documents filed with the claim petition are true copies of their respective originals, to the extent so stated.

4. No material fact has been knowingly concealed from this Hon'ble Tribunal.

DEPONENT

Verification

Verified at __________ on this ______ day of __________ 20__ that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge and belief and that no material fact has been concealed.

DEPONENT

Illustrative list of documents

S. No.	Particulars	Page No.
1	Copy of FIR/police accident report, where available
2	Medical records/discharge summary/post-mortem report, as applicable
3	Identity and address proof of claimant/victim
4	Proof of age
5	Driving licence, if relevant
6	Medical bills and treatment expense statement
7	Income proof, salary records, ITRs or business records, as applicable
8	Vehicle registration and insurance particulars, where available
9	Disability certificate and assessment material, where applicable
10	Dependency/legal representative documents in fatal accident claims

Downloadable format

Download the existing MS Word claim application format

Note: the linked legacy Word file may still contain references to omitted Section 140. Update the document to the current statutory framework, including Section 164 where applicable, before filing.

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Practical filing note

MACT procedure is affected by the Motor Vehicles Act, Central rules, State Motor Vehicles Rules, local Tribunal practice and case-specific facts. The prescribed form, number of sets, affidavit requirements, court-fee treatment, police accident report procedure and document requirements should therefore be checked for the State and Tribunal where the claim is to be filed.