The present complaint has been filed by the titled complainant Jagtar Singh against the titled opposite party insurers who somehow have been delaying payment of the maturity proceeds of his Life Insurance Policy No.161149588 (in short, the LIP) having matured in the year 2018. The complainant being posted at Ludhiana in the year 1998 had purchased the said L I P from the OP1 Ludhiana Branch @ premium of Rs.539/- per month to be paid within the LIP Period of 20 years. Previously, the policy-premium was used to be deducted from his Salary A/c 81502010095659 with Syndicate Bank, Ludhiana and upon his transfer to Gurdaspur from his salary a/c with HDFC Bank. The premium installments had been regularly deducted from his salary account(s) and finally the policy got matured on 07.05.2018. The complainant contacted the OP2 Gurdaspur Branch to get maturity proceeds and upon their asking had deposited all the documents + original policy with them.
2. The complainant stayed in touch with the OP2 Branch and had been querying of his policy's maturity proceeds but the related sanction stayed awaited at the OP2 Branch so he visited the OP1 Branch as well as the OP3 office at Ludhiana but could neither trace his LIP nor its maturity proceeds. The complainant continued with his efforts for more than two years till he served the legal notice upon the OP on 22.09.2020 but even that proved futile & thus prompted the present complaint praying for directives to the titled opposite party insurers to pay him the LIP maturity proceeds along with interest @ 24% PA from the date of Maturity of the LIP besides to pay him Rs.50,000/- as damages etc.
3. The complainant Jagtar Singh has filed certified copies of the listed documents in evidence to prove his version of the complaint:
i) Ex.CW1/A – Affidavit by Jagtar Singh, the complainant deposing contents of his complaint and sanctity of his evidence;
ii) Ex.C1 – Statement of the complainant's salary bank A/c evidencing monthly deductions of policy-premium installments;
iii) Ex.C2 – Pass-book pertaining to the complainant's bank account;
iv) Ex.C3 – Copy Legal Notice dated 22.09.2020 to the OP insurers;
v) Ex.C4 – Postal Receipts evidencing dispatch of the legal-notice;
vi) Rebuttal/Replication filed on 18.02.2021.
4. The titled opposite parties, in response to the commission’s summons appeared through their counsel and filed their common written reply stating therein preliminary as well as other objections (on merits, as well) as:
5. The complaint is not maintainable in its present form as the complainant has not come to the forum with clean hands and has suppressed the true facts that dis-entitle him to any statutory relief. The complainant has been non-cooperative and has not submitted the requisitioned documents viz original policy-bond # 161149588, maturity-claim discharge-receipt and others.
6. On merits, the OP insurers have denied almost all the contents of the complaint addressing these as matter of records and have re-repeated the rebuttals raised during the preliminary objections alleging non-cooperation on the complainant's part through non-submission of the requisitioned papers. The OP insurers do plead non-submission of any evidence by the complainant during the present proceedings indicating deficiency in service on their part. Finally, the OP insurers have sought dismissal of the present complaint with costs being bereft of merit. The OP insurers have in support of their version/pleadings in their defense have produced the lone affidavit by the Ex.OP-1 AAO Mohinder Pal, deposing the contents of the written reply.
7. We have examined the available documents/evidence on the records so as to statutorily interpret the meaning and purpose of each document and also the scope of adverse inference on account of some documents ignored to be produced by the contesting litigants against the back-drop of the arguments as placed-forth by the learned counsels for their respective sides. We find that the present dispute has arisen on account of 'non-payment' of the maturity proceeds of the related LIP to the complainant by the OP insurers and also for the impugned‘re-requisition’ of the documents for release of the LIP maturity that the complainant claims to have already filed in the year 2018 with the OP2 Gurdaspur Br., upon their requisitioning.
8. We observe that the one and the prime logic founding the 'non-payment' and repeated 'requisition' of certain documents for release of the maturity-claim of the related LIP could only be on account of non-availability/non-traceability of records with the OP insurers as well as with the complainant who incidentally has deposed having submitted these to the OP2 Gurdapur Branch and the same goes un-contested by the OP. Further, the LIP was purchased from the OP1 Ludhiana office whereas its monthly premium was deducted from the salary account of the complainant first at Ludhiana and then at Gurdaspur. Further, the policy-bond and collateral papers are claimed to have been submitted at the OP2 Br. Office; so it has, by the time, been the prime duty of the OP insurers to have traced the LIP records to determine the in-orderly receipts of the monthly premium(s) and recordings/registering of any charge assignments etc favoring any creditors. The complainant has been in regular contact with the OP offices and all the requisite papers could have been got signed by him and even the duplicate LIP could have been got issued vide completion of requisite documentation etc. But that was not to be and the OP insurers at all the above three titled levels did nothing to resolve the dispute but instead merely kept on deferring/delaying the release of the LIP maturity-claim and that exhibits gross negligence as well as unfair trade practices leading to deficiency in service on the OP part and thus do attract an adverse statutory award against them.
9. The OP insurers, by the time, must realize that their administrative acts/delays/deferments/decisions in settling insurance claims are open to judicial review and thus need be taken with due application of mind and not arbitrarily and these should also be transparent/speaking in nature duly explaining the reason and logic of the act/decision as to how the same has been reached. The facts in issue need be appreciated while awarding sanctity to the current applicable law.
10. Finally, in the matter pertaining to the present complaint and in the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and thus ORDER the opposite party insurers to pay the maturity-proceeds of the related LIP 161149588, in full, along with all its accrued benefits etc with interest @ 6% PA from the date of maturity of the LIP till actual payment besides Rs.10,000/- as cost and compensation to the complainant Jagtar Singh within 45 days of receipt of the certified copy of these orders otherwise the total aggregated awarded amount shall carry additional interest @ 3% PA w.e.f. the date of the orders till actually paid.
11. The complaint could not be decided within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of Court Cases, vacancies in the office and due to pandemic of Covid-19.
12. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to record.
(Naveen Puri)
President.
ANNOUNCED: (B.S.Matharu)
AUG. 10, 2022. Member.
YP.