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2001 DIGILAW 373 (JHR)

Kiran Singh v. Oriental Insurance Company Limited

2001-06-12

GURUSHARAN SHARMA, VINOD KUMAR GUPTA

body2001
ORDER 1. Delay in filing the appeal is condoned since the cause shown is sufficient. The appeal shall be treated to have been filed in time. With the consent of the parties, the appeal is taken up for consideration and final disposal today itself. 2. The appellant is aggrieved by the impugned judgment dated 26.2.2001 passed by the learned Single Judge in CWJC No. 4397/ 2000 only to the extent, in so far as learned Single Judge has not issued any direction upon respondents to pay interest to the appellant on her claim of Rs. 3 lacs against the respondents. 3. It is the admitted case of the parties that the husband of the appellant was insured with the respondent-company for a sum of Rs. 3 lacs. It is also the admitted case of the parties that the husband of the appellant was murdered and thereupon the claim was lodged by the appellant for receipt of the insured sum. It is not the case of the respon- dent-Insurance Company that the appellant was guilty or negligent of lodging the claim even a day later than was required. It is also not the case of the respondent-Insurance Company that either the appellant did not the of murder or the aforesaid insurance policy was not effective or that the appellant was not entitled to receive the amount in question. In fact, the counter affidavit filed by the respondents in the writ petition itself establishes that the respondents conducted an investigation into the aforesaid death of the husband of the appellant and its surveyor filed a report on 30th. June, 1999 (the death had taken place on 30th. December, 1998) whereby it came to light that the husband of the appellant was indeed killed by being shot by revolver. Para 6 of the counter- affidavit of the respondents in the writ petition being apposite is reproduced below :-- "6. That the petitioners husband Late Sanjay Kumar Singh was insured with the Oriental Insurance Company for a period of 25.7.1996 to 24.7.2006 for a sum of Rs. 3,00,000/- in the event of death of the insured by accident (Annexure-1). Late S.K. Singh died on 30.12.1998 (as appeared from the death certificate). The respondent Insurance Company was informed by the petitioner regarding the death. 3,00,000/- in the event of death of the insured by accident (Annexure-1). Late S.K. Singh died on 30.12.1998 (as appeared from the death certificate). The respondent Insurance Company was informed by the petitioner regarding the death. The Insurance Company then conducted an investigation into the death of Late Sanjay Kumar Singh arid its representative visited the village-Tarwadi and met concerned persons to investigate the facts and figures related to the claim application filed by the petitioner and subsequently on 30.6.1999 the said investigator submitted his investigation report by which it came to light that Late S.K. Singh was killed by revolver." 4. If, therefore, the appellant was not guilty or negligent in any manner, why did the respondents not release the payment to the appellant and why did it compel the appellant to come to this Court by filing the writ application in the year 2000 has not at all been explained by the respondents either in the counter- affidavit or elsewhere. 5. The only stand apparently taken by the respondent-company and urged before us today by its learned counsel is that the amount was not released because the police did not complete the investigation and a copy of the panchanama Report was not submitted to the respondent-Insurance Company. The stand is wholly untenable and totally misconceived. Whether the police completes the investigation into the murder of the husband of the appellant or not has nothing to do with the liability of the respondents to pay the amount in question to the appellant because the respondents never disputed the fact that the husband of the appellant had been killed. On the contrary, it is the own case of the respondents that in the investigation conducted by the respondent-Insurance Company itself, it came out that the husband of the appellant indeed had been killed in a murder incident. Similarly, when the Insurance Company itself carried out the investigation, its Investigator could have easily obtained the copy of Panchanama Report and other related documents from the police in order to substantiate the fact, as far as the documents go, that indeed the husband of the appellant was murdered. Despite all these, not paying the amount to the appellant for as long as two years is a culpable negligence on the part of the respondents. For no valid reasons, the respondents withheld the payment of the amount due to the appellant. Despite all these, not paying the amount to the appellant for as long as two years is a culpable negligence on the part of the respondents. For no valid reasons, the respondents withheld the payment of the amount due to the appellant. On that account, therefore, surely and certainly, the appellant was entitled to receive the interest on this belated payment because that was the only method by which the appellant could be compensated for this loss that she suffered on account of the money to her being withheld for as long as two years. 6. The learned Single Judge, therefore, ought to have considered that aspect of the matter, specially in the light of the specific prayer of the appellant in the writ petition filed by her. The judgment under appeal is, however, silent on that aspect of the matter. 7. For the reasons aforesaid, this appeal is allowed. The Judgment of the learned Single Judge is modified to the extent that the appellant is held entitled to receive interest on the insured amount of Rs. 3 lacs (Rs. three lace) @ 10% per annum from 1st. January, 1999, till 26th. February. 2001, when the judgment under appeal was passed by the learned Single Judge. The respondent-Insurance Company is directed to pay this amount of interest to the appellant within three weeks from today. No order as to costs. 8. Appeal allowed.