The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to New India Assurance Company in a family’s petition demanding Rs 85.6 lakh for the wrongful denial of an insurance claim linked to pilot Captain Sumit Kamal Kapur’s death in the Baramati aircraft crash, with the next hearing scheduled for August 2026.
The Delhi High Court has asked New India Assurance Company Ltd to respond to a petition brought by the family of late commercial pilot Captain Sumit Kamal Kapur over an insurance claim of Rs 85.6 lakh linked to his death in the Baramati aircraft crash in January. Justice Jasmeet Singh issued the notice on July 21 and set the matter down for further hearing on August 19, 2026.
According to the petition, filed by Kapur’s widow, Anju Kapur, and their children, Captain Shiv Kapur and Dr Sanya Kapur Wadhwa, the insurer wrongly refused to honour a Loss of Licence Insurance Policy. The family wants the court to quash a rejection letter dated June 25, 2026 and direct payment of Rs 85,60,000 with interest. They have also asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to examine what they describe as a wrongful denial of the claim.
The petition says Kapur had more than 22,000 flying hours and had held an Airline Transport Pilot Licence since 1985. It argues that the policy remained live because New India Assurance had extended the window for renewals and fresh enrolments until January 31, 2026, while the crash took place on January 28. On that basis, the family contends the insurer cannot rely on Section 64VB of the Insurance Act, 1938, to avoid liability.
The court ordered service on the respondents through all permitted means, including electronic and dasti service, and asked the petitioners to take the next steps within a week. The crash itself is already the subject of separate official and legal scrutiny: the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are investigating the cause, while a public interest petition in the Bombay High Court has sought a court-monitored probe. Reports in the Indian Express have also said the aircraft carried substantial insurance cover, with the wider payout exposure from the disaster estimated at about Rs 55 crore.
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