Under section 167 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, where the death of, or bodily injury to, a person…

Section 167 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 gives the person entitled to compensation an election: compensation may be claimed under either the Motor Vehicles Act or the employees' compensation law, but not under both. Section 167 refers to the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 (formerly the Workmen's Compensation Act); that Act has been repealed and re-enacted in Chapter VII of the Code on Social Security, 2020, so the reference is read as one to the Code (section 8, General Clauses Act, 1897). The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 did not change section 167.

The choice belongs to the claimant, not to the court; there is no requirement to file both claims, and the Motor Vehicles Act does not shut out a claim under the Code.