State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
Mrs. Anita Keshub vs The New India Assurance Company Ltd on 16 November, 2009
STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION,
STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES
REDRESSAL COMMISSION,
UNION TERRITORY,
CHANDIGARH.
Appeal case No.622/2009
Date of institution:6.11.2009
Date of decision :16.11.2009
Mrs.
Anita Keshub W/o Sh.Trilok Keshub, resident of H.No.2511, Sector-35-C,
Chandigarh.
.Appellant
V E R S U S
The New India Assurance Company Ltd., Divisional Office-I, SCO No.36-37,
Ground floor, Sector-17-A, Chandigarh through its Divisional Manager.
.Respondent
Appeal U/s 15 of Consumer Protection Act,1986 against
order dated 5.10.2009
passed by Consumer Disputes
Redressal Forum-II,
U.T.Chandigarh.
Argued
by: Sh.Parminder Singh,advocate for the appellant.
BEFORE : Honble
Mr.Justice Pritam Pal, President
Maj.Gen.S.P.Kapoor(Retd), Member
Mrs. Neena Sandhu,Member
JUDGMENT
16.11.2009 Justice Pritam Pal, President
1. This appeal by complainant is directed against the order dated 5.10.2009 passed by District Consumer Forum-II, U.T.Chandigarh whereby his complaint bearing NO.214 of 2009 was dismissed.
2. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that Complainant took comprehensive private car insurance policy from the OP- New India Assurance Company Ltd. for her car having registration No.CH-04-1327, which was valid from 21.06.2008 to 20.06.2009 for Rs.5,50,000/-. The said car of the complainant met with an accident on 12.08.2008 and on receiving information, OP deputed the surveyor to inspect the accidental car and to assess the loss. The Complainant submitted all the documents but OP failed to settle her claim within a period of fifteen days. Ultimately the claim of the Complainant was allowed and a cheque of Rs.5,49,000/- dated 28.01.2009 was given to her. It was alleged that the accident had taken place on 12.08.2008 but the claim was settled on 29.01.2009 without paying her any interest on account of delay of about six months in settling the genuine claim. Alleging deficiency in service on the part of OP, the complainant filed complaint before the District Forum seeking interest and compensation.
3. On the other hand, the case of OP before the District Forum was that the claim of the complainant was assessed, processed and sanctioned on Total Loss Basis. The claim amount is paid only after the completion of all the formalities i.e. final survey report, investigation and verification report etc. The survey report was prepared on 07.11.2008 and thereafter the verification report of the driving licence was received on 12.11.2008 and then after the approval of the competent authority of OP, letter dated 29.12.2008 was sent to the complainant for completing the remaining formalities i.e. transfer of R.C. in the name of Insurance Company, deposit of salvage etc. The salvage was inspected on 28.01.2009 and on the same day the claim amount was paid. It was pleaded that the money involved being public money could only be disbursed after full satisfaction of the competent authority. The total IDV value of the vehicle was Rs.5,50,000/- and the surveyor assessed the amount of loss in full and recommended payment of Rs.5,49,000/- on total loss basis after deduction of Rs.1000/- as compulsory excess as per Insurance Policy terms and conditions. The Insurance Company was to indemnify the value as per IDV and was not concerned with the payment of loan installments and interest paid by the Complainant for the loan taken. Thus, it was pleaded that complainant was not entitled to any amount on account of interest etc and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
4. The learned District Consumer Forum after going through the file and hearing the learned counsel for the parties came to the conclusion that the complainant was not entitled to any consequential losses and there was no substance in the complaint and the same was accordingly dismissed. This is how feeling aggrieved against the said order, complainant has come up in this appeal.
5. We have heard learned counsel for the appellant/complainant and also gone through the file carefully. The only contention raised on behalf of the appellant at the time of admission of this appeal is that since the compensation of Rs.5,50,000/- on account of full loss of the vehicle was made after more than five months of raising the claim, therefore, complainant was also entitled to interest which has not been granted in the instant case.
6. We have given our thoughtful consideration to this sole point of arguments of learned counsel for appellant but the same appears to be devoid of merit on the face of it. Before we proceed further it would be appropriate to reproduce sub-para(ii) to Para-3 of the impugned order, which reads as under ;
(ii)The only dispute between the two parties i.e. the Complainant and the OP, is that there was a delay of about six months in settling the insurance claim of the Complainant. Whereas the Complainant claims that since the claim in question was bonafide and genuine and involved total loss of the vehicle, the same should have been settled within a period of 15 days from the date of filing the claim.
On the contrary, the said claim was settled by the OP in a period of more than five months. As per the OP when the accident was reported to it, it immediately appointed the surveyor i.e. the accident took place on 12.08.2008 and the surveyor was appointed on 25.08.2008. The date of survey was 26.08.2008. As per the requirements for settling all insurance claims against the accidents, the investigator took steps to get the driving licence and registration certificate verified from the Registering Authority, Chandigarh and a report to that effect was submitted to the OP by him on 12.11.2008. Before that the surveyor appointed by the OP had completed the work of preparing the survey report and gave the final survey report to OP on 07.11.2008. As a follow up of the report by the surveyor and loss assessor appointed by the OP, the surveyor submitted the final inspection report of salvage of total loss of the impugned car to the OP on 28.01.2009. During the course of processing and settlement of the insurance claim, the OP also wrote to the Complainant on 29.12.2008 informing her that the said accident claim of Rs.5,49,000/- has been approved by the competent authority on total loss basis and the Complainant was requested to transfer the R.C. of the vehicle in favour of the OP Company so that after further processing the case, the company is able to settle the claim in her favour. Finally, after completing all this procedure, the OP company paid a sum of Rs.5,49,000/- to the Complainant on 28.01.2009 itself i.e. the day the salvage of the car was inspected by the company surveyor.
7. The facts contained in the aforesaid para go a longway to show that after the transfer of Registration Certificate and depositing the salvage of damaged vehicle in favour of OP, final inspection was done by the surveyor & the loss assessor on 28.1.2009 and it is then claim of total loss to the tune of Rs.5,50,000/- was paid on the same day.
No doubt OP had taken more than five months in making payment of the total loss but it is not fully established that OP was liable for causing the said delay. There were many formalities to be completed by the complainant also regarding the handing over of relevant papers for transferring the registration certificate etc in the name of OP before accepting the total loss of the damaged vehicle.
8. After taking into consideration the facts and circumstances brought on the file on behalf of parties, we are of the opinion that there was no such unreasonable and unjustified delay on the part of OP which could make it liable for paying the interest on the amount of compensation of total loss in favour of the complainant. Thus, in the result it is not found to be a fit case even for admission and consequently the appeal is hereby dismissed in limine.
Certified copies of this order be communicated to the parties, free of charge. The file be consigned to records.
Announced ( Justice Pritam Pal)(Retd.) 16th Nov.,2009 President (Maj.Gen.S.P.Kapoor(Retd) Member (Mrs.Neena Sandhu) Member Js NAVY DAY By Commander Trilochan Singh Trewn I.N.(Retd) Annual navy day falls on 4th December,2009 and is expected to be celebrated by naval fraternity serving or retired in almost all capital towns in general and all seaports in particular. Today there is naval presence in all big or small ports of India.
Ships big or small are as old as humans on earth. As civilization spread necessity arose to have armed ships or naval ships subsequently termed as countrys navy. The present Indian navy came into being during British rule as Royal Indian Marine or Royal Indian Navy which acquired name as Indian Navy after independence in1947. India is proud of having a navy commanded by Maratha admiral Knnhoji Angre prior to British rule and a flourishing ship building yard in ports near Surat. Here large size wooden ships of superior international standards were built and exported to Europe. Wooden ships made in India took parts and played glorious roles in various sea battles including the battle of Trafalgar of international fame.
Since advent of civilization people have liking for sea. In my 22 years long stay in Mumbai I have noticed special fascination for sea and navy amongst people residing there of all shades. A mere mention of a short sea trip excites them. I remember that as a junior officer in navy during fifties it was so easy for me to cultivate friendship with important families by arranging visits to ships in naval boats. The very sight of sea waves and resulting spray on their bodies thrilled them. I was standing by HMS Hercules during late fifties at Belfast.
I happened to be present at the Harland and Wolff shipyard on board HMCS Bonaventure when Lord Louis Mountbatten the then first lord of admiralty was on board at short notice to attend a ceremony to commemorate memory of the titanic which was built in the same shipyard in 1912 and had sunk soon after. When the management announced that no drinks were going to be served Lord Louis happily replied that he and other VIP guests were glad and grateful to be on a naval ship for a get together as very feel of navy was gratifying enough on a glass of lemon juice as everyone there was enjoying the naval presence.
Navy day is celebrated all over India at selected places on 4th December in ports selected ships, repair yards and ship building yards are kept open for public to see closely the exterior and interior of ships, process of diving in deep and shallow waters by naval divers, dry docking and ship launching procedures and an outline of working of ships machinery and armament. A visit to a submarine and an aircraft carrier makes the occasion more interesting while taking a group of inquisitive visitors inside they are explained principles of buoyancy, the two hulls of a submarine, its airborne bathroom flushing system, its circular bulk head doors, its large size numerous electrical batteries which propel the submarine when fully submerged, significance of terms as surfaced, snorting and fully submerged submarine, diving procedures, preliminary talk on torpedoes and air pressure control inside a submarine. I also had occasion to take families of the officer incharge government mind and the director of national stock exchange to INS Vikrant at Mumbai anchorage on a navy day.
It proved to be a very rewarding occasion. They in return invited then naval personnel and their families to watch minting of currency and moulding of 25Kg solid gold bricks in government mint and working of national stock exchange in their Dalal street complex. During that navy day visit visitors were taken to the aircraft lift with a capacity of 400 persons to be taken upto the flight deck. To their sheer curiosity & amazement so far they had experienced large lifts with a capacity of not more than 12 persons. Next they were taken to the two deck landing mirrors both sides of the flight deck fitted to guide the landing of aircrafts in quick succession. The technique of pushing aircrafts into air at full ships speed by steam catapult and stopping the landing aircrafts on the relatively ships small landing space by using arresting wires interested them most.
One of the film actors son amongst visitors had gleefully remarked I shall not forget this navy day!