ORDER

Per: Justice B.S. Verma, President (Oral):

            This appeal is directed against the impugned order dated 16.06.2010 passed by the District Forum, Udhamsingh Nagar in consumer complaint No. 10 of 2007; Ajay Agarwal vs. Senior Divisional Manager, National Insurance Co. Ltd. and others, whereby the District Forum has directed the opposite parties to decide the claim of the complainant within one month from the date of order and there after three months paid interest @ 7% per annum thereon and             Rs. 5,000/- towards compensation and Rs. 2,000/- for litigation expenses.

2.       Learned counsel for the insurance company has raised preliminary objections that the appeal is not maintainable since the direction was given to decide the claim of the complainant.  In reply learned counsel for the appellant has contended that the District Forum has committed manifest error of law in giving direction to pay interest on the claim amount and Rs. 5,000/- for compensation and Rs. 2,000/- towards costs of litigation without considering the fact that the consumer complaint was not maintainable since the claim was not decided.  Therefore, the consumer complaint was premature.

3.       The consumer complaint was contested by the opposite parties by filing written statement.

4.       We have perused the judgment and operative portion of the order.  The District Forum has committed error by giving direction to pay interest on the claim amount which was not settled at the time of passing the impugned order, therefore, we set aside the part of the order thereby direction was given to pay interest on claim amount after three months from the date of settlement of claim and compensation part. Appeal is partly allowed. No order as to costs.

5.       It is made clear that the insurance company shall decide the claim of the complainant within a period of 30 days positively from today. The statutory amount deposited by the appellant at the time of filing the appeal be released in appellant’s favour.