Supreme Court orders SITs across India to probe fraudulent motor insurance claims

The case concerns a petition by The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. against Tun Pati and others, arising from a High Court judgment, which has expanded into a pan-India inquiry into fraudulent motor accident insurance claims where the same vehicle is allegedly involved in multiple accidents.

Who it concerns: Petitioner: The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.; Respondents: Tun Pati & Ors., including various State Governments (e.g., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, etc.), Union Territories, and numerous Life and General Insurance Companies; Bench: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Prasanna B. Varale.

What the court decided

• The Court directed all States to constitute a special dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) at the State level to verify insurance claims indicating potential frauds.
• The Court ordered that all complaints by Insurance Companies be forwarded to these SITs for expeditious investigation.
• The Court directed States to provide sufficient personnel to the SITs for the completion of investigations.
• The personal presence of Mr. Joydeep Saha (MD & CEO of Manipal Cigna Health Insurance) was dispensed with for the present after he filed a personal affidavit.
• The matter was listed for hearing on 17-08-2026.

Also in the document

• The Court noted that the issue started with a specific vehicle dispute but expanded to uncover a pattern of fraud where the same vehicle is shown in multiple accidents.
• The Court acknowledged the action taken by the State of Uttar Pradesh, which had constituted an SIT pursuant to a previous Supreme Court order, resulting in 231 FIRs being lodged.
• Counsel suggested integrating existing portals like VAHAN, SARATHI, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' EDAR portal with a common insurance claims portal to track fraudulent patterns, though no specific order on this integration is explicitly stated in the provided text.