Nagaland

StateCommission

A/1/2018

Shri Pramod Poddar - Complainant(s)

Versus

Birla Sunlife Insurance Company - Opp.Party(s)

N Mich

10 Jun 2019

ORDER

All the aforesaid 6 appeals are being disposed off by this common judgment since facts and circumstances in all the appeals are similar in nature. The appeals have been prepared against the Judgments dated 22.03.2018, passed by the learned District Consumer Forum, Dimapur in CFD case nos 14, 11, 7, 12, 13 and 16 of 2016, dismissing the complainant petition on the ground of gross delay in filing the complainant petitions. Hence, all the aforesaid appeals are at the instance of the complaint.

Heard Shri N Mich, learned counsel for the Appellant and Shri Likhase Sangtam, learned counsel for the Respondent. I have also perused the memo of appeal and the complainant petition.

Brief facts of the case are that the Complainant’s mother Lt. Rukumini Devi had taken life insurance policies of different amounts from the respondent company. Unfortunately the assured met an immature death on 21.12.2010 due to snake bite. The insurance policies were taken at the native place at Begusarai in the state of Bihar.

The Appellant is the son of the assured/deceased. He is, of course staying at Dimapur and working in a rice mill as a labour.

Being aggreived with the reputation orders issued by the insurance company on different dates the Complainant/Appellant contacted a lawyer at his native place at Begusarai on 02.12.2012, nearly after 2 years of the death of his mother. After handing over all the necessary documents, the Appellant did not pursue his cases. Finally the complaints were filed in the Consumer Forum at Dimapur, Nagaland in the month of July 2016. All the 6 complaint cases have been dismissed holding that the delay of nearly 4/5 years in filing the cases have not been explained.

The Appellant’s case is that the complaints could not be filed within the statutory period as the lawyer fell sick. Though the lawyer from Bihar has submitted an affidavit that the complaints could not be filed in time due to his illness, not a single document of medical treatment for more than 3 years has been filed by the lawyer. It is also the case of the Complainant that he couldn’t contact his lawyer in Bihar as he had lost his contact number. However this argument is unacceptable in as much as the Complainant and his original Lawyer were from the same place in Bihar. Hence, the Appellant could have personally visited his lawyer as they are from same place. No doubt the law permits admitting a complaint even beyond statutory period but this provision has a rider that the complainant must satisfactorily explain the delay. In the case at hand all the six complaints were filed after more than 4/5 years without any cogent ground of delay.

During the course of hearing the learned counsel for the Appellant relied upon a judgment of, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, rendered in the case of Rafiq vs Munshilal; (1981)2SCC 788. In this case the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that a litigant should not suffer due to any fault and default of his lawyer.

In the instance case no doubt the documents were handed over to the learned counsel just before the expiry of 2 years period. But thereafter the Appellant did not pursue his case nor his lawyer for a long period of 3 years. The facts of the cited case do not match with the facts of the instance appeals even remotely.

Before parting with the case I would like to put on record noticeable lacunae in filing complaint cases and appeals. In the complaint cases neither the complainant nor his lawyer has signed each and every page of the complaint petitions. The affidavits are also defective in as much as the Complainant has not disclosed his age, profession and also the relation with the deceased.

Similarly, in the Certificates given by the lawyer in the memo of appeals no date has been mentioned nor the memo of the appeals have been signed by the lawyer or the Appellant himself.

The Registrar of the State Consumer Commission as well as the President of the District Forums should examine the pleadings meticulously at the time of registration of the cases. The registrar is directed to communicate a copy of this judgment to all the District Forums for compliance.

In the result, all the appeals are hereby dismissed as the appeals are without any merit. No costs.