It is a weeknight and you are stopped at a signal. A car behind you misjudges the brake, hits your rear bumper and swerves past before you have even looked up. By the time you step out, it has turned the corner. You are left with a dented car, maybe a sore neck, and one question. Can anything be done about a hit and run case in India when you never saw who did it?
Yes, but how much you can recover depends on one thing. Whether the other vehicle is ever identified. If it is not, you are limited to a fixed government payout for injuries and your own insurance for the car. If it is, you can claim from that driver's insurer for your actual loss, with no fixed cap.
The steps you take in the first hour decide which of those two outcomes you end up with. Here is what to do, in order.
The first few minutes after a hit and run
Safety comes before evidence, insurance or anything else. Adrenaline pushes people into risky moves in these moments, like stepping into traffic to catch a number plate.
-
Switch on your hazard lights and, if the car can move, pull over to the side of the road.
-
Check yourself and your passengers for injuries. Neck and back pain can show up hours later. Do not wave it off.
-
Call 112 if anyone is hurt or if your car is blocking traffic.
-
Do not chase the other vehicle. A second accident or a roadside fight helps nobody, and your dashcam has already recorded what you need.
-
Stay at the spot for a few minutes if it is safe. Shopkeepers, auto drivers and other motorists often saw more than you did.
Capture the evidence and protect your dashcam footage
In a hit and run, the other driver is not around to share their name, licence or insurance details. What you record in the next half hour is often the only way to trace them.
Your dashcam clip matters most. Every nextro dashcam uses loop recording, which overwrites the oldest footage once the memory card fills up. The camera never stops recording, but an unprotected clip will not last forever.
While you are still at the spot, work through these.
-
Check that the clip is locked. Every nextro dashcam has a G sensor that detects an impact and locks that clip automatically, keeping it safe from loop recording. If the knock was too light to trigger it, save the clip yourself on the camera or from the companion app, GoLook for the X300 and X600 or Viidure for the X700 and X900.
-
Download a copy to your phone. Keep the original file untouched on the memory card as well. Police and insurers may ask for the unedited version.
-
Watch the clip once and note the details. Write down the number plate, the vehicle's colour and make, and the direction it went. If only part of the plate is readable, note every character you can see. Reflective number plates often glow white in headlights at night, and a partial plate is common.
-
Check every camera you have. On a dual or triple channel dashcam, look at the rear and cabin footage too. A knock from behind is usually clearer on the rear camera, which records in 1K on the X600, X700 and X900.
-
Photograph the scene. Capture the damage to your car, the road, any debris and the nearest landmark or signboard.
-
Collect witness numbers. Ask nearby shops or housing societies whether they have CCTV facing the road, and ask them to save that footage.
Never trim, filter or edit the clip you share with the police. An edited file is easy for the other side to question.
If your car was hit while parked
Many hit and runs happen with nobody in the car, in a society lot, outside an office or on the street overnight. A dashcam can only record these if it stays powered while the car is off. All four nextro dashcams support parking monitoring through a hardwire kit with a low voltage cutoff, which protects the car battery. The X300 and X600 include the kit in the box, while the X700 and X900 use the Type C Hardwire Kit, bought separately. If parking monitoring was on, check for a locked clip from the time you were away.
Our guide to using your dashcam as a car security camera explains how parking mode works and what it catches.
File the FIR the same day
Report the accident to the police as soon as you can, ideally the same day. Every claim route below starts with a police record, and a delay gives the other side room to question your account.
If anyone in your car is hurt, there is help with the hospital bill too. Since May 2025, the government's Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme has covered treatment worth up to ₹1.5 lakh per victim for the first seven days after an accident, at designated hospitals. Ask the hospital about it when you arrive.
Take these with you to the police station.
-
Your driving licence, RC and insurance policy.
-
Your phone with the saved dashcam clip, and a pen drive copy if you can.
-
Photos of the damage and the location.
-
Witness names and numbers.
-
Hospital records, if anyone was treated.
Ask the officer to record the vehicle number, or the partial number, from your footage in the FIR. Take a copy before you leave. Your insurer and the claims authorities will both ask for it.
If the accident happened in another city or the local station turns you away, you can file a Zero FIR at any police station. It is later transferred to the station that covers the accident location.
Two claim routes, depending on whether the vehicle is traced
What you can claim for injuries comes down to one question. Was the vehicle that hit you identified?
|
|
Vehicle never identified |
Vehicle identified |
|
Route |
Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2022 |
Claim before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) |
|
Who pays |
A government fund, routed through an insurance company |
The other vehicle's insurer |
|
Amount |
Fixed at ₹50,000 for grievous hurt and ₹2,00,000 to the family if the victim dies |
Decided by the tribunal based on the case, with no fixed amount |
|
Where you apply |
Claims Enquiry Officer of the sub division or taluka where the accident happened |
The MACT with jurisdiction over the accident |
|
What you need |
FIR, Form I, hospital records and the undertaking in Form IV |
FIR, medical records, proof of expenses and income, and evidence linking the vehicle to the accident |
If the vehicle is never identified
The 2022 scheme replaced the older Solatium Scheme from 1 April 2022 and raised the payouts considerably. You or your legal representative apply in Form I, along with the hospital's claim if treatment was given under the cashless scheme. The Claims Settlement Commissioner at the district level is expected to sanction the payment within 15 days of receiving the enquiry officer's report.
Keep two limits in mind. The scheme covers grievous injury and death only, not damage to your car. And the Form IV undertaking means you refund the amount if you later receive compensation for the same accident from another source.
If the vehicle is identified
Once the vehicle is traced, the hit and run scheme no longer applies. You file a claim before the MACT against the driver, owner and insurer of that vehicle. The tribunal looks at your actual loss, which can include medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering.
This is where your dashcam footage earns its place. A clear clip showing the plate, the time and the impact is often what turns an unidentified vehicle into an identified one, and that single change decides which of these two routes you take.
Claiming for your car through your own insurance
The government scheme does not pay for vehicle damage. For your car, you will usually claim under the own damage part of your motor policy.
This only works with a comprehensive or standalone own damage policy. A third party only policy covers damage you cause to others, not damage done to your car.
-
Inform your insurer as early as possible. Most policies set a time limit for reporting, printed in the policy wording.
-
Share the FIR, photos of the damage and your dashcam clip with the claim.
-
Do not get the car repaired before the insurer's surveyor inspects it, unless the insurer allows it.
-
Ask whether the claim will affect your No Claim Bonus. An own damage claim usually does, and for a small dent it can cost you more at renewal than the repair itself.
Your footage helps here as well. It shows the insurer that the damage came from another vehicle at a specific time and place, which answers most of the questions a surveyor would otherwise ask.
Is the 10 year jail term for hit and run in force?
No, not as of October 2026. You may have seen messages saying a hit and run driver now faces 10 years in jail. That provision exists on paper but has not been brought into force.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the old IPC, and its Section 106 deals with causing death by negligence. Section 106(1) covers rash or negligent acts and carries up to five years. Section 106(2) adds a stricter penalty of up to 10 years for drivers who cause a death through rash or negligent driving and then flee without reporting it.
After nationwide protests by truck drivers, the government announced on 2 January 2024 that Section 106(2) would not be brought into force without further consultation. It has stayed on hold since, and cases are taken up under Section 106(1) in practice.
None of this changes what you, as the victim, can do. The FIR, the compensation scheme and the MACT route all work whether or not the driver is ever prosecuted.
A few seconds of footage can change the outcome
Most hit and runs are over in seconds, and the driver who caused it is counting on nobody getting a clear look. A dashcam that is already recording takes that advantage away. It gives the police a number to trace, gives your insurer a clear record, and can move your injury claim from a fixed payout to one assessed on your actual loss.
If you drive in city traffic every day or park on the street, it is worth having one running before you need it. Compare nextro's dashcams and pick one that suits your daily drive.
This article is general information and not legal advice. For your specific case, speak to a lawyer or your insurer.
About the author
Bhavesh Kumar, Head of Product & Customer Success at nextro. He works directly with customers recovering footage after road incidents and supporting their insurance claims, and writes about what actually holds up in Indian driving conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the product.