Motor Accident Claims Filing Scam: Madras High Court Orders Registration Of 467 FIRs, Asks SIT To Probe

The Madras High Court has ordered registration of 467 FIRs based on complaints given to police stations in connection with a large-scale scam involving the filing of vexatious motor accident claim petitions before the courts in the State. Justice Anand Venkatesh directed that the FIRs be transferred to the SIT that was set up by the court in 2021 and the process be completed within a period of four weeks. “The respondents shall ensure that the 467 complaints which have been given in the respective Police Stations and which has been tabulated, shall be taken on file and FIRs shall be registered and all the FIRs shall be transferred to the SIT. This process shall be completed within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of copy of the order,” the court said. The court was hearing a petition filed by Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited in 2021, seeking the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in order to investigate the complaints given by the Insurance Company, which pertained to nearly 120 claims made through fake and fabricated insurance policies. In February 2021, the court had directed the Director General of Police to form an SIT to deal with the issue, noting that it was necessary since the fake claims had wide ramifications and there was a huge network behind the same. When the plea was taken up recently, the court was informed that a total of 467 cases had been identified involving a total sum of Rs. 105,23,56,770. The counsel submitted that this amount was only a minuscule sample of the large-scale scam that was taking place. Considering the materials, the court directed the authorities to ensure that complaints are filed in the 467 cases and FIRs are registered, which shall then be transferred to the SIT. The court also noted that in one of the previous hearings, it was informed that some of the documents were missing from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and could not be traced. Noting the gravity of the issue, the court had directed the concerned court to start an enquiry and ensure that the documents filed along with the MCOP were kept intact and were not returned to the parties or counsel. When the matter was taken up, the court noted that the report was silent in this regard. The court directed the Principal Sub Judge, Hosur and the Additional District Judge, Hosur, to take note of the issue and submit a report. The court also directed that if the documents were not traceable, a criminal complaint had to be lodged, since the property belonging to the court had gone missing and the issue had to be taken to a logical conclusion. Case Title: M/s. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd and another v. The Director General of Police and others Case No: Crl. O.P No. 2302 of 2021 and Crl O.P 4174 of 2021Click here to read order

Motor Accident Claims Filing Scam: Madras High Court Orders Registration Of 467 FIRs, Asks SIT To Probe

Upasana Sajeev

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