Section 166: Application for compensation
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Compensation Claim
Limitation: 6 Months
Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal
Act 1988
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
(1) An application for compensation arising out of an accident of the nature specified in sub-section (1) of section 165 may be made
(a) by the person who has sustained the injury; or (b) by the owner of the property; or (c) where death has resulted from the accident, by all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased; or (d) by any agent duly authorised by the person injured or all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased, as the case may be: Provided that where all the legal representatives of the deceased have not joined in any such application for compensation, the application shall be made on behalf of or for the benefit of all the legal representatives of the deceased and the legal representatives who have not so joined, shall be impleaded as respondents to the application. [Provided further that where a person accepts compensation under section 164 in accordance with the procedure provided under section 149, his claims petition before the Claims Tribunal shall lapse.] [(2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be made, at the option of the claimant, either to the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction over the area in which the accident occurred or to the Claims Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the claimant resides or carries on business or within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the defendant resides, and shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be prescribed: [***]] [(3) No application for compensation shall be entertained unless it is made within six months of the occurrence of the accident.]
(4) The Claims Tribunal shall treat any report of accidents forwarded to it under [section 159] as an application for compensation under this Act.] [(5) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, the right of a person to claim compensation for injury in an accident shall, upon the death of the person injured, survive to his legal representatives, irrespective of whether the cause of death is relatable to or had any nexus with the injury or not.]
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 166
Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 governs the filing of compensation claim applications before the Claims Tribunal, prescribing territorial jurisdiction, locus standi, and standard compensation assessment principles.
If all legal representatives do not join, they must be arrayed as respondents.
Sub-section (2) grants broad, claimant-friendly territorial jurisdiction: the claim petition may be instituted at the option of the claimant either 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. Following the 2019 Amendment, sub-section (3) introduced a six-month limitation period from the date of the accident for filing claims.
Sub-section (4) provides that the Claims Tribunal shall treat any report of an accident forwarded to it under Section 159 (Accident Information Report / DAR) as an application for compensation, ensuring suo motu access to justice.
Section 166 represents the core battleground of motor accident litigation. Under the definitive frameworks of Sarla Verma and Pranay Sethi, the calculation of dependency compensation is mathematically standardized to eliminate arbitrary judicial variance. Claimants must prove income through income-tax returns or minimum wage notifications, apply the appropriate future prospects percentage, deduct personal expenses, apply the age-based multiplier, and claim enhanced consortium under Magma.