West Bengal

Bankura

CC/18/2023

Buddhadeb Karmakar - Complainant(s)

Versus

Durgapur LPG Regional Office, HPCL - Opp.Party(s)

Jayanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay

21 Aug 2024

ORDER

IN    THE   DISTRICT   CONSUMER   DISPUTES   REDRESSAL COMMISSION, BANKURA

  Consumer Complaint No.18/2023

       Date of Filing: 21/02/2023

Before:                                        

1. Samiran Dutta                                     Ld. President      

2. Siddhartha Sankar Bhui                    Ld. Member

 

For the Complainant:Ld. Advocate Jayanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay

For the O.P.1: Ld. Advocate Pranab Kumar Pal

For the O.P.2: Ld. Advocate Sayanton Chowdhury

For the O.P.3: Ld. Advocate Prabir Banerjee

 

Complainant:

Buddhadeb Karmakar, S/O Mathur Karmakar, Resident of gopalganj, Jogipara, Bishnupur, P.O. + P.S.- Bishnupur,Dist.- Bankura,Pin -722122.

Opposite Party:

1.Durgapur LPG regional Office, HPCL, 1^st Floor, ARB Center, Auto Care Centre, Indo-American More, NH-2, Durgapur, District- Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, Pin- 713206. Contact- 91-33-24393287.

2. M/S K.M. HP Gas Agency ( Distributor) , Hazra Para, P.O.- Bishnupur, P.S.- Bishnupur, Dist.- Bankura, Pin- 722122 ( W.B.).

3.ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd., ICICI Lombard House, 414 Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400 025

 

FINAL ORDER / JUDGEMENT           

                                                                                                                                                

Order No.19

Dated:21-08-2024

Both parties file hazira through Advocate.

The case is fixed for argument.

After hearing argument from both sides the Commission proceeds to dispose of the case as hereunder: -

The Complainant’s case is that he is a bona fide Consumer of LPG Gas Connection being Consumer I/D No.635912 under O.P.2/Distributor. On 08/02/2021 around 5 p.m. Complainant’s wife Santana Karmakar who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy caught fire accidentally in the kitchen in the pool of exit gas when she lighted matchstick to ignite the oven which was already switched on carelessly  to help the coming out of the LPG gas  freely. Immediately thereafter she was removed to Bishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital and thereafter she was shifted to Bankura Sammilani Medical College & Hospital and ultimately she was admitted to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata where she expired on 15/03/2021 with newly delivered dead baby out of Septicemia burn injury. The incident was reported to both O.P. No.1/LPG Gas Co.

                                                                                                                                                                                  Contd…..p/2

Page: 2

and O.P. No.2/Distributor in writing. O.P. No.3 / General Insurance Co. has been  subsequently added to stake the insurance claim for compensation on the accidental death of said Santana Karmakar arising out of LPG gas cylinder accident. Hence this case.

Both O.P.1 & O.P.2 including O.P.3 have separately filed written version to contest the case denying their slightest liability to pay any compensation as prayed for. Their common defence is that the victim caught fire in the kitchen out of her own negligent and inconsiderate act and LPG cylinder and the installation of gas connection thereof is in no way connected with such accident. Moreover, no claim application has been preferred before O.P.3/General Insurance Co. and as such they had no scope and opportunity to consider the claim before filing of the case.

-: Decision with reasons:-

Having regard to the facts of the case, contention, submission, and documents on both sides the Commission finds that  it is an pathetic fire accident in which the victim Santana Karmakar and her newly delivered baby lost their lives. The cause of death as per Death Certificate issued by SSKM Hospital is septicemia out of burn injury.

It is no doubt an accidental death attributable to own negligence of the victim and  neither LPG gas cylinder nor installation equipments were found to be defective/faulty  at the relevant point of time and in such circumstances of the case Ld.Advocate for O.P.3/Insurance Co. has denied their liability to pay any compensation in this case in terms of Section-I of the Policy schedule issued by O.P.3 limiting the  liability of the Insurer to pay compensation for loss of life, injury or damage in accordance with the law of the Country awarded by the Court of Law, Consumer Forums, NHRC order or orders from any statutory body in connection with accidents attributed to LPG provided such accident occurs at Customer’s registered premises.

It is therefore evident from the above Policy condition that the accidents which are attributed to LPG will come within the purview of the liability of compensation of O.P.3.  As stated above the incident occurred due to own negligence of the victim and neither the LPG cylinder nor the installation equipments thereof are attributable to the cause of the incident and as such O.P.3 cannot be said to be liable of any deficiency in service on their part for the cause of accidental death of the victim. This is also the contention of Ld.  Advocate for O.P.1 & O.P.2. Likewise O.P.1/HP LPG Gas Co. and O.P.2/Distributor are not liable in any way to the cause of the accident.

                                                                                                                                                                                          Contd…..p/3

Page: 3

Ld. Advocate for O.P.3 has also raised the point of bar of limitation as the case has been filed after two years from the date of cause of action arising on 08/02/2021 as mentioned in the petition of complaint without any prayer for condonation  of delay.

Ld. Advocate for the Complainant has however contended that the period of limitation of two years should begin latest from 15/03/2021 when the victim expired and the case having been filed on 21/02/2023 is well within the period of limitation.

The Commission thus ignores the limitation point but does not accept the insurance claim of compensation for the reasons stated above.

Hence it is ordered…….

That the case be and the same is dismissed on contest but without cost.

Both parties be supplied copy of this Order free of cost.

 

    __________________                                   ________________            

 HON’BLE   PRESIDENT                           HON’BLE    MEMBER