Appeal, Recovery and Rules

Section 174 also runs the other way. In National Insurance Co. Ltd v. Swaran Singh, (2004) 3 SCC 297, the Supreme Court held that where the insurer proves its defence, the Tribunal may direct that the insurer, having had to satisfy the third party's award, be reimbursed by the insured; and that if the insured does not deposit that amount within the thirty days allowed by section 168(3), it is recoverable from him on a certificate to the Collector under section 174, as an arrear of land revenue.

Section 176: the State Government's rules

A State Government may make rules for carrying into effect sections 165 to 174, and in particular for

• (a) the form of the application for compensation, the particulars it may contain, and the fees;
• (b) the procedure to be followed by a Claims Tribunal in holding an inquiry;
• (c) the powers vested in a civil court which may be exercised by a Claims Tribunal;
• (d) the form and manner of an appeal against an award, and the fees; and
• (e) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed.

This is why section 166(2) can say the application shall be "in such form and contain such particulars as may be prescribed", and why section 169(1) makes summary procedure "subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf". The detail of practice before a Tribunal is in the State rules, not in the Act.

Section 176 covers sections 165 to 174 only. Rules for the compulsory insurance and no-fault Chapter are made by the Central Government under section 164C and by the State Government under section 164D.

A worked example

A Tribunal awards Rukhsana six lakh rupees against an owner and his insurer on 1 March.

The insurer wants to appeal the whole award. To the High Court, within ninety days of 1 March, and because it is a person required to pay it must deposit twenty-five thousand rupees or fifty per cent of six lakh, whichever is less: twenty-five thousand rupees.

Rukhsana wants to appeal for more. Same forum, same ninety days, no deposit; the first proviso binds only the person required to pay.

The insurer wants to dispute only an item of eighty thousand rupees. No appeal lies. Section 173(2) bars an appeal where the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than one lakh rupees.

The appeal is filed on the hundredth day. The High Court may entertain it under the second proviso if satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause.

Nobody pays. Rukhsana may apply to the Tribunal, which since 1 April 2022 may execute the award itself under section 169(4), or may issue a certificate to the Collector under section 174 for recovery as an arrear of land revenue.

Which form must her appeal be in? The form prescribed by the State rules made under section 176(d).

What it does NOT mean

The floor is not a floor on the award. It is on the amount in dispute in the appeal.

The deposit is not the whole award. It is the lesser of twenty-five thousand rupees and half the award.

Ninety days is not extendable as of right. The second proviso requires the High Court to be satisfied of sufficient cause.

A certificate to the Collector is not the only remedy any more. Section 169(4) has given the Tribunal execution powers of its own.

Quick revision

1. Section 173(1): ninety days from the date of the award, appeal to the High Court.
2. First proviso: the person required to pay must deposit twenty-five thousand rupees or fifty per cent of the award, whichever is less.
3. Second proviso: delay may be condoned for sufficient cause; contrast section 166(3), which has no such power.
4. Section 173(2): no appeal where the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than one lakh rupees, raised from ten thousand with effect from 1 April 2022.
5. Section 174: on the application of the person entitled, the Tribunal certifies the amount to the Collector, who recovers it as an arrear of land revenue; and since 1 April 2022 section 169(4) also lets the Tribunal execute its own award.
6. National Insurance Co. Ltd v. Swaran Singh, (2004) 3 SCC 297: reimbursement by the insured to the insurer is recovered the same way if not deposited within thirty days under section 168(3).
7. Section 176: State rules for sections 165 to 174, covering the form of application, the procedure, the civil court powers exercisable, and appeals.

Test yourself

1. State the provisions as to appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal. By section 173(1) any person aggrieved by an award may, within ninety days from the date of the award, prefer an appeal to the High Court. The first proviso bars the High Court from entertaining an appeal by the person who is required to pay any amount in terms of the award unless he has deposited with the High Court twenty-five thousand rupees or fifty per cent of the amount awarded, whichever is less, in the manner directed by the High Court; a claimant appealing for enhancement is therefore not required to deposit anything. The second proviso permits the High Court to entertain an appeal after the ninety days if satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring it in time, which may be contrasted with section 166(3), where the six-month bar on the claim itself carries no power of condonation. By section 173(2) no appeal lies if the amount in dispute in the appeal is less than one lakh rupees, a figure raised from ten thousand rupees by section 57 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 with effect from 1 April 2022.

2. How is an award enforced? Two ways since 1 April 2022. Section 168(3) requires the person liable to deposit the entire amount awarded within thirty days of the announcement of the award. If he does not, section 174 allows the Tribunal, on an application by the person entitled to the amount, to issue a certificate for that amount to the Collector, who then proceeds to recover it in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue. In addition, section 169(4), inserted by section 55 of the amending Act, gives the Tribunal for the enforcement of its award all the powers of a civil court in the execution of a decree under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, as if the award were a money decree passed by such a court. The machinery of section 174 also runs from insured to insurer: in National Insurance Co. Ltd v. Swaran Singh, (2004) 3 SCC 297, the Supreme Court held that where the Tribunal directs that an insurer who has satisfied a third party's award be reimbursed by the insured, and the insured does not deposit that amount within thirty days, it is recoverable on a certificate to the Collector as an arrear of land revenue.

3. What rules may a State Government make under section 176? Section 176 empowers a State Government to make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of sections 165 to 174, that is, the whole of the Claims Tribunal Chapter down to recovery. In particular the rules may provide for the form of the application for claims for compensation, the particulars it may contain and the fees payable in respect of such applications; the procedure to be followed by a Claims Tribunal in holding an inquiry under the Chapter; the powers vested in a civil court which may be exercised by a Claims Tribunal; the form and manner in which, and the fees on payment of which, an appeal may be preferred against an award; and any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed. The rules matter because the Act itself is deliberately skeletal on procedure: section 166(2) requires the application to be in the prescribed form, and section 169(1) permits summary procedure only subject to the rules. Rules for the insurance and no-fault Chapter are made separately, by the Central Government under section 164C and by the State Government under section 164D.