Mumbai Woman’s Family Awarded Rs 33.6 Crore in 32-Year-Old Road Accident Case
Mumbai, 28th August 2026: In a landmark compensation award in a motor accident case, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has directed Oriental Insurance Company Ltd to pay around Rs 33.6 crore, including interest, to the family of a Dubai-based Indian interior designer who died in a road accident more than three decades ago.
The tribunal’s order concerns the death of Kavita Sawlani, who was killed in a head-on collision on the Thane-Nashik highway on July 3, 1994. Her husband, Suresh Sawlani, now 76, and their two children, aged 47 and 46, are the beneficiaries of the compensation.
The insurer had provided coverage for both vehicles involved in the accident.
The latest compensation calculation follows directions issued by the Bombay High Court in May, after both Oriental Insurance and the Sawlani family challenged the tribunal’s earlier award. In June 2003, the MACT had awarded compensation of more than Rs 5.5 crore.
Fatal collision on Thane-Nashik highway
Kavita was travelling from Mumbai towards Shirdi with her husband, children and relatives when their car collided head-on with a lorry near Vadapa village on July 3, 1994.
Kavita and her sister, Kanchan Melwani, died in the accident.
The family approached the tribunal by filing a compensation claim on December 23, 1994. They argued that the accident was caused by the negligence of the drivers of the vehicles involved and maintained that Kavita, as a passenger, had no responsibility for the collision.
Oriental Insurance contested the claim, raising questions about negligence, Kavita’s income and the family’s dependency on her earnings. The insurer also argued that the accident was beyond the drivers’ control.
Compensation recalculated
The original MACT award of over Rs 5.5 crore was challenged before the Bombay High Court by Oriental Insurance, while the claimants sought an increase in compensation.
Following the High Court’s directions, the MACT recalculated the compensation and fixed the principal amount at Rs 8.8 crore.
In an order pronounced on July 20, the tribunal directed that the compensation would carry 9% annual interest from December 23, 1994, until the amount is paid.
With the accumulated interest over the intervening years, the total amount payable by the insurer has reached approximately Rs 33.6 crore.
The case highlights the substantial impact that prolonged litigation and interest can have on compensation awarded in motor accident claims, particularly when proceedings continue for several decades.
