The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central government to formulate a scheme for cashless medical treatment for motor accident victims in the "golden hour" period mandated under law [S Rajasekaran v. Union of India]..The golden hour is the the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury when medical treatment is most effective. As the Court noted, in many cases, if the required medical treatment is not provided within the golden hour, the injured may lose their life..The Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih stated that Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act casts an obligation on the Central government to make a scheme for cashless treatment of victims of accidents during the golden hour."It is a statutory obligation of the Central Government to frame the scheme. More than reasonable time was available to the Central Government to frame the scheme under Sub-Section (2) of Section 162. Once the scheme is framed and its implementation starts, it will save the lives of several injured persons who succumb to injury simply because they do not receive requisite medical treatment during the golden hour," reads the order..The Court thus directed that a scheme for cashless treatment in the golden hour shall be notified latest by March 14, and that no more time extension shall be granted..Explaining the rationale behind the provision for cashless treatment in the golden hour, the Court said,"The hospital authorities sometimes wait till the arrival of the police. They are always worried about the payment of charges for the treatment, which in a given case can be on higher side. That is a reason why Sub-Section (1) of Section 162, which starts with a non-obstante clause, provides that the insurance companies carrying on general insurance business in India shall provide for the treatment of road accident victims, including during golden hour in accordance with the scheme made under the MV Act.".The Centre had submitted a draft concept note outlining a proposed scheme, which included a maximum treatment cost of ₹1.5 lakh and coverage for only seven days. However, an applicant in the case had contended that these measures were inadequate to address the need for comprehensive care."We find that these two concerns must be addressed while framing the scheme. The scheme must be such that it serves the object of saving lives by providing immediate medical treatment in the golden hour," the Court said..The Bench further stated that Section 164-B, which provides for the creation of motor vehicle accident fund, was introduced in April 2022, but is yet to be implemented. It added that the enactment of Section 164-B will serve no purpose until the golden hour scheme is framed and implemented..[Read order]
