Supreme Court orders nationwide digital system to track road accidents and curb fake claims

The Supreme Court instructed every state to promptly upload road-accident details to the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) portal and interlink it with the national vehicle-registration (VAHAN), driver-licence (SARATHI) and Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) systems. Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and PB Varale gave a four-week deadline for compliance, emphasizing that the integrated digital trail will accelerate genuine compensation and expose fabricated or collusive claims, covering hit-and-run incidents and the PM-RAHAT cashless-treatment scheme.

The order follows earlier directives to set up special investigation teams for alleged large-scale motor-insurance fraud. The court also served contempt show-cause notices to executives of Navi General Insurance Ltd, The New India Assurance Company Ltd, Zuno General Insurance Ltd, General Insurance Corporation of India and Liberty General Insurance for failing to obey prior orders. The bench rejected a superficial apology from Navi General’s managing director and demanded personal affidavits from the accused executives.