Deposited But Not Delivered: India's Mountain of Unclaimed MACT Compensation

The scale of the problem

Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACTs) were designed as a fast-track remedy: insurers deposit court-awarded compensation; families withdraw it to rebuild their lives. In practice, an audit across five High Court jurisdictions reveals nearly ₹1,000 crore deposited but never disbursed. Every rupee belongs to a household that has already lost a breadwinner.

These figures cover only five High Court jurisdictions. The nationwide number is almost certainly much larger — but no one has counted yet.

Supreme Court directions

In April 2025, the Supreme Court took judicial notice of this systemic bottleneck in In Re: Compensation Amounts Deposited with Motor Accident Claims Tribunals and Labour Courts. The Court issued specific directions:

• National dashboard

  An e-Courts dashboard listing deposits, claimants, case status and bank details, district-wise.
• Bank details on award

  Every claimant must furnish IFSC, account and a cancelled cheque at the time of order.
• FDR-protected funds

  Undisbursed deposits must be invested in nationalised-bank FDRs and auto-renewed.
• Active tracing

  SLSAs, revenue and police officers must trace unclaimed beneficiaries and report in 4 months.
• Direct bank transfer

  Judges must verify identity and route awards by RTGS/NEFT directly to the claimant's account.

A few states — Jharkhand, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh — already maintain dedicated MACT dashboards. Most do not.

Process after an award (MCTAP)

The Modified Claims Tribunal Agreed Procedure (MCTAP) — approved by the Delhi High Court — lays down a clear, time-bound execution chain. In principle, it should leave no room for unclaimed deposits:

• 30 days to deposit

  Insurer transfers full compensation to the Tribunal via RTGS/NEFT within 30 days of the award.
• 15 days to intimate

  Insurer notifies claimant and files compliance; failure to do so can trigger bank-account attachment after 90 days.
• MACAD scheme

  Funds disbursed via the MACAD annuity scheme through ~21 designated public-sector banks for structured monthly payouts.
• FDR safeguards

  Individual claimant accounts only, original FDRs in safe custody, no cheque book / debit card, monthly interest via ECS, no premature break without court order.
• Form XVII & XVIII

  Compliance Report and Award Register maintained for audit and claimant verification.

Why awards go unclaimed

• Lost track

  Families relocate, change phone numbers, and lose contact with their advocate.
• Procedural fog

  Withdrawal requires affidavits, identity proofs, and bench appearances most claimants cannot navigate.
• Advocate dependency

  Awards routed through counsel sometimes never reach the named beneficiary.
• No outreach

  Tribunals do not actively trace claimants once an award is passed.

What families experience

Field interviews across UP, Bihar and Maharashtra found that most bereaved families did not know an award had been passed in their favour. Of those that did, the majority gave up after one or two failed visits.

Fixes the system needs

The road ahead

A standardised national MACT disbursal protocol — built once, deployed across states — would convert ₹1,000 crore of dormant compensation into real relief for families. The legal victory has already been won. What remains is delivery.