The Home Department’s order follows a Supreme Court directive in a civil Special Leave Petition that called for state‑level special teams to tackle insurance fraud, prompting the state to act in compliance with the court’s instructions.
The SIT will be chaired by an Inspector General of Police (IGP) and will include a Superintendent of Police nominated by the Criminal Investigation Department, a Deputy Superintendent of Police nominated by the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP), and three police inspectors also nominated by the DG&IGP.
Granted jurisdiction throughout Karnataka, the team has been declared a police station under Section 2(1)(u) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) of 2023, empowering its officers to submit final reports to jurisdictional courts under Section 193 of the same law.
Operational oversight will rest with the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) at the police headquarters in Bengaluru, and all complaints from insurers will be forwarded by the DG&IGP to the SIT for investigation.
The government order requires the SIT to conduct thorough inquiries and submit investigation reports to the state government without delay through the DG&IGP, with periodic progress updates to be sent to the ADGP (Law and Order).
The establishment of the SIT aims to accelerate the resolution of insurance fraud cases, protect policyholders and reinforce confidence in the insurance sector, though its effectiveness will depend on the team’s resources and cooperation from insurers.