Chapter XII — Claims Tribunals
Section 168 — Award of the Claims Tribunal
Written and checked byManju Shekhar· Motor Law & Compliance· Updated 10 October 2026
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Act 59 of 1988)
Text of the section
Award of the Claims Tribunal.—(1) On receipt of an application for compensation made under section 166, the Claims Tribunal shall, after giving notice of the application to the insurer and after giving the parties (including the insurer) an opportunity of being heard, hold an inquiry into the claim or, as the case may be, each of the claims and, subject to the provisions of section 162 may make an award determining the amount of compensation which appears to it to be just and specifying the person or persons to whom compensation shall be paid and in making the award the Claims Tribunal shall specify the amount which shall be paid by the insurer or owner or driver of the vehicle involved in the accident or by all or any of them, as the case may be: Provided that where such application makes a claim for compensation under section 140 in respect of the death or permanent disablement of any person, such claim and any other claim (whether made in such application or otherwise) for compensation in respect of such death or permanent disablement shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Chapter X. (2) The Claims Tribunal shall arrange to deliver copies of the award to the parties concerned expeditiously and in any case within a period of fifteen days from the date of the award. (3) When an award is made under this section, the person who is required to pay any amount in terms of such award shall, within thirty days of the date of announcing the award by the Claims Tribunal, deposit the entire amount awarded in such manner as the Claims Tribunal may direct.
Reproduced from the India Code text of the Act. Bracketed superscript numerals are the official footnote markers for earlier amendments.
Amended by the 2019 Amendment Act
In section 168 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1),— (i) for the word and figures “section 162”, the word and figures “section 163” shall be substituted; (ii) the proviso shall be omitted. 55.
This is the amending instruction from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 32 of 2019), quoted verbatim. Read it together with the text above — the consolidated version is the section as it reads once these changes are applied.
Amended by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2026 — in force from 15 August 2026
(S) In section 168, after sub-section (3), the following sub-section and proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “(4) The application for compensation made under section 166 shall be dealt with by the Claims Tribunal as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the application within a period of twelve months from the date of receipt of the application: Provided that where any such application could not be disposed of within the said period of twelve months, the Claims Tribunal shall record its reasons in writing for not disposing of the application within that period.”.
Amending instruction from the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (No. 8 of 2026), Schedule entry 51, quoted verbatim. It took effect for the Motor Vehicles Act on 15 August 2026 under S.O. 4100(E), 24 July 2026. Where it conflicts with the text above, this later change prevails.
Before you rely on this. The base text above is the Act as consolidated by the India Code, which predates the 2019 amendment; 2019 and 2026 changes are shown separately rather than merged in. Later amendments may also apply. For anything official, read the current text on the e-Gazette or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways site.
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