Integrate the Information Technology (IT) system of the State Police Department with the road accident database report on the Parivahan website of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and all the insurance companies for real-time sharing of investigation details of motor vehicle accident cases, the High Court of Karnataka directed the State authorities.
The court also directed integration of the police IT system with the Unique Disability ID website set up by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, to track the disability caused to a victim of accident and the report issued by the medical board constituted under the Rights of Persons with Disability Act.
Integration should also be done with the Forensic Laboratory Management System of the State with the Police IT system, the court said.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the direction while pointing out that integration of online system of these authorities are essential for real-time sharing of information and interaction between various authorities on investigation of motor vehicle accident cases in asynchronous manner based on the investigation procedure laid down under Section 150A of the Central Motor Vehicles (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2022.
The court directed the Director-General and Inspector-General Police, the Secretary, Department of Health, State Transport Commissioner and the Secretary, e-Governance Department to submit a project report within four weeks for integrating the systems.
The directions were issued while pointing out the delay caused in filing claim petitions by the victims in a road accident case as the police did not transmit the Detailed Investigation Report (DAR) to the claims tribunal and other authorities despite clear mandate in the Rules 2022 for transmitting the DAR to the tribunal and other stakeholders.
Receiving of the documents by all the stakeholders electronically would expedite the process of commencement of claim from the victims of accidents as the tribunal can register the DAR as a claim petition, secure evidence electronically and conduct proceedings expeditiously, the court observed.
Pointing out that filing of DAR before the tribunal by the police, as per the 2022 Rules, would automatically result in initiation of claim proceedings in favour of the victims provided the police had furnished the details of claimants, without waiting for filing of a petition by the claimants, the court said linking of IT systems of the authorities would expedite the process on claim petition.
