In a sharp and unusually blunt hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court questioned both the Odisha Police leadership and Oriental Insurance Company over what it described as a “casual and unacceptable” approach in a motor accident compensation dispute. The bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Prasanna B. Varale repeatedly expressed displeasure as the matter came up for monitoring of earlier directions.
Background
The case arises from a 2017 accident involving a Bolero pickup van (OR-04-L-2555), for which the High Court of Orissa had awarded compensation to the claimants. Oriental Insurance challenged the order, insisting there were doubts about whether the same vehicle was involved.
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Back in May 2025, the Supreme Court had given the insurer liberty to approach the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) for verification. Later, on March 6, the Court directed the Odisha DGP to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to check if the vehicle was indeed the one that caused the accident.
On Thursday, when the matter came up, the Court examined the State’s latest affidavit, which confirmed-after reviewing eyewitness accounts, RTO records, and statewide police inputs-that the Bolero van was indeed the very vehicle involved in the October 2017 accident.
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Court’s Observations
Despite these clear findings, the bench was visibly displeased with how the authorities had handled the Court’s earlier orders.
When the judges asked the insurance company if it had obtained any information from the IIB, the response was that they were “still trying.” That did not go down well. “The bench observed, ‘Such a plea is totally unacceptable after more than six months of inaction.’” The Court remarked that the insurer’s conduct “does not inspire confidence,” especially since it had even supplied illegible documents to the police, making verification impossible.
The judges also took a stern view of the Odisha Police’s handling of the SIT. Although the order was addressed to the DGP, he had passed it down to a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who filed a report without deeper investigation.
Calling this a “gross casualness”, the Court said the DGP had failed to supervise the process. When asked why, the State’s counsel had “no satisfactory explanation.”
“The bench stated, ‘The DGP shall file a personally affirmed show cause explaining why action should not be taken.’”
Both the insurer and the DGP were put on notice that any further delay will invite strict consequences.
Decision
The Court has now listed the matter for 15 December 2025 at 3:30 PM as a part-heard case. It directed:
- The Odisha DGP must file a personal show-cause affidavit explaining his laxity.
- The insurer must complete all pending verification and produce results by the next date.
- If the investigation is still incomplete by then, the Court warned that it will take a “strict view.”
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Before rising, the Court also addressed the issue of compensation release. The insurer informed that ₹39 lakh (principal) and ₹10 lakh (interest) had been deposited with the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Cuttack. The claimant’s counsel will verify the figures.
Finally, the bench ordered that the claimants-who earlier received one-fourth of the amount-will now get an additional one-fourth of the awarded compensation released from the MACT deposit. With that, the Court reserved the remaining issues for the next hearing.
Case Title: The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Tuni Pati & Others
Case No.: SLP (C) No. 5582 of 2023
Case Type: Special Leave Petition (Civil) arising from Motor Accident Compensation Appeal
Decision / Order Date: 27 November 2025
