STATE CONSUMER DISPUTE REDRESSAL COMMISSION
BIHAR, PATNA
Appeal No. 42 of 2012
Vidyotma Devi, Wife of Anil Kumar Singh, Resident of Village- Nai (New), Basti Mahadeva, PS- Mahadeva O.P Siwan (Mufassil), District- Siwan
… Complaint/Appellant
Versus
Branch Manager, National Insurance Company Limted, Siwan Branch, Babunia Road, Siwan, Mohalla & PO- Siwan, District- Siwan
…. Opposite Party/Respondent
Counsel for the appellant: Adv. Chandra Sen Prasad Singh
Counsel for the respondent: Adv. Raj Kumar Singh Vikram
Dated 09.02.2023
As per: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar, President.
O r d e r
Present appeal has been filed by the complainant-appellant for setting aside the judgment and order dated 26.12.2011 passed by District Consumer Forum, Siwan in Complaint Case no. 305 of 2011 whereby and whereunder the complaint case of complainant has been dismissed on the ground that driver of insured vehicle had no valid driving license to run a commercial vehicle.
Briefly stated the facts of the case is that complainant is the registered owner of a Maruti Van bearing registration no. BR-29F-5085 and she used said van as ambulance. Ambulance was used to carry patients to Patna and on 09.11.2010 when said ambulance was returning after dropping patient in Patna and was moving on Chhapra Siwan road and as it reached near Ekma Stand, two minor girls were hit from said ambulance and thereafter the local people assembled there and set the ambulance on fire.
FIR was instituted giving rise to Ekma PS Case no. 158 of 2011. Insurance company was informed about the incident and thereafter claimant claimed Rs. 2,00,000/- as insured amount. Insurance company appointed a surveyor to investigate the claim and after investigation he submitted his report that ambulance was completely destroyed in fire and he assessed loss as Rs. 1,40,000/- minus salvage amount. However, claim of complainant was repudiated on the ground that the driver of the vehicle had no commercial license to drive a commercial vehicle against which complainant filed complaint case in the District Consumer Forum, Siwan for payment of insured amount and setting aside order of repudiation dated 29.04.2011.
The District Consumer Forum held that the vehicle of complainant was insured for sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- and on the date of incident also insurance was valid. However, it is also admitted fact that driver of the ambulance had LMV driving license but there was no endorsement on his driving license that he was authorized to drive commercial vehicle.
The District Consumer Forum held that driver of the vehicle had no valid driving license to drive a commercial vehicle and same was in violation of terms & conditions of insurance policy and the insurance company is not liable to pay the assured amount to the complainant and as such repudiation of the claim was as per terms of insurance policy, and there was no deficiency in service of the insurance company and accordingly rejected the complaint case by order as impugned in this appeal.
It is argued on behalf of counsel for the appellant that driver had a valid driving license to run a commercial vehicle and finding recorded by District Consumer Forum is incorrect.
It is now settled preposition of law that only on the ground of violation of terms & conditions of insurance policy that driver had no valid driving license to run commercial vehicle, whole claim can not be rejected rather it is to be settled on non standard basis. Accordingly, the Order passed by the District Consumer Commission is set aside and the insurance company is directed to settle the claim of appellant-complainant on non standard basis (75%) within 60 days from the date of receipt/production of the certified copy of the order passed by this court.
For the reasons as stated above, Appeal is allowed to the extent as indicated above.
(Ram Prawesh Das) (Sanjay Kumar,J)
Member President
Md. Fariduzzama
