DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION: BHADRAK : (ODISHA).
Consumer Complaint No. 124 of 2022.
Date of hearing : 17.10.2023.
Date of order : 14.11.2023.
Dated the 14th day of November 2023.
Pyara Sahaji, S/o:-Jhadia Sahaji,
At:-Padhisahi (Basti), Po/P.S:- Pirahat,
Dist:- Bhadrak.
………….. Complainant.
-:Versus:-
- Namita Nayak, Owner of Arupananda Indane
Gramin Vitarak (0000287308),
Khata No.909, Plot No.1591, At/Po:-Maharampur,
Via:-Dolasahi, P.S:- Tihidi, Dist:- Bhadrak-756127.
Area Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.,
Indane Area Office, Bhubaneswar,
At:-Alok Bharati, 3rd Floor, Saheed Nagar,
Bhubaneswar, Pin-751007.
- Managing Director, Indane Oil Corporation Ltd.,
Indane Area Office, Delhi, 2nd Floor, World Trade Centre,
Babar Road, Barakhamba Lane, New Delhi, Pin-110001.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd.,
Represented through Legal Manager, 3rd Floor,
Anuj Building, Plot No.29, Satyanagar,
.…………Opposite parties.
P R E S E N T S.
1. Sri Shiba Prasad Mohanty, President,
2. Smt. Madhusmita Swain, Member.
Counsels appeared for the parties.
For the Complainant : Sri N.P. Behera, Advocate & Associates.
For the O.P. No. 1 : Ex-parte.
For the O.P.No.2 & 3 : Sri N.C. Patra, Advocate & Associate.
For the O.P. No. 4 : Sri Amarendra Kumar, Advocate
J U D G M E N T.
SRI SHIBA PRASAD MOHANTY, PRESIDENT.
In the matter of an application filed by the complainant alleging deficiency of service against the Opposite Parties under Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Fact of the case is that, the complainant is a consumer of Indane Gas under the distributorship of O.P.No.1 since 29.12.2020 & his consumer No. is 720682288/7200000006892288. Complainant had regularly used the gas at his home for cooking purpose & booked gas cylinder for refilling from O.P.No.1 after paying the amount fixed by O.Ps company regularly. Unfortunately on dtd.17.06.2021 at about 10.30 a.m. the cylinder of O.Ps company had burst accidentally at the time of cooking inside the house of complainant. After burst incident of said cylinder, complainant immediately informed to Fire Station, Gadi to extinguish the fire and the fire officers came to the spot immediately & tried to extinguish the fire & to save the house of complainant, the local people were also gathered & tried to extinguish the fire. The fire offices issued Fire Certificate in favour of complainant bearing No.761, dtd.26.06.2021 whose F.R. No.64, dtd.17.06.2021 was registered by the Fire Station Gadi Office. Further complainant states that when the said cylinder burst his entire thatched house has been burnt for which all of the house hold articles including golden ornaments, Fans, Motor Pump, LCD TV, all Utensils, Tailor machines, Fridge, Palank, Mobile Phones, Washing machine & all other house hold articles including cash of Rs.20,000/- were totally burnt by the said fire whose approximately value is Rs.5,59,400/- & some of the family members including the complainant sustained burn injury on his body & for his treatment complainant has spent Rs.80,000/- for medicine & doctor fees. But yet the O.Ps did not take any steps against the same untoward incidents & remained silent till the date of filing of the complaint though complainant has intimated the O.Ps immediately after the incident in writing. O.P.No.1 assured the complainant that his file is under process of claim and requested the complainant to wait for some days. Lastly on dtd.27.08.2022 the O.P.1 refused the complainant & told him that “though the company did not take any action basing on complainant’s complain so complainant did not do anything”. This incident was happened due to negligence of O.Ps Company & the cylinder which was supplied by O.P. Company was not in proper condition & damaged one for which the incident was happened. The O.Ps are being the authorized persons of the company are liable & responsible for all damages of complainant. Finding no other way the complainant meet the O.P.1 again & again & submitted his grievance through writing, but there was no fruitful result came out. For which complainant has issued legal notice to the O.Ps through his advocate on dated 29.08.2022 to solve his problem by R.P. with A.D. After receiving the notice the O.P.1 send his staff to the house of complainant & called him to the office of O.P.1. Complainant also went to the office, O.P.1 assured the complainant to wait till 12.12.2022 & she will solve the problem of complainant. Complainant has prayed to direct the O.Ps to pay Rs.5,59,400/- for damage of articles along with compensation of Rs.80,000/- for medicine & doctor fees & Rs.20,000/- for litigation fees.
OP No.1 was set ex-parte.
O.P.No.2 & 3 submit that, the complainant has availed LPG Connection from the O.P.No.1 vide Subscription Voucher No.7-000006913974, dtd.29.12.2020 bearing Consumer No.7206892288 (72000000068922880 with residential address at Padhisahi, Pirahat, Tihidi, Bhadrak. O.P.No.1 is engaged as a Distributor under Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. vide Distributorship Agreement dated 18.08.2015.O.P.No.1 & 2 are taking full proof measures & rigorous quality control checks to avoid any type of accident. There is no deficiency of service on the part of O.Ps and as such no liability can be fastened upon the O.Ps for compensation. It is not disputed that in case of proven case of LPG accident, the Insurance Companies are liable to provide the compensation to the entitled consumers. This O.P. had obtained a policy of insurance from ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited vide Policy No.4008/220359545/00/000 starting from 00.01 hrs of April 15, 2021 to 24.00 hrs Mar 31, 2022 for coverage of risks/losses/damages arising out of the use of LPG Cylinder. Therefore the ICICI LGICL is a proper & necessary party to the complaint. The complainant may be directed to implead ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. as one of the O.Ps. The O.P.No.1 brought the incident to the notice of the O.Ps on 19.06.2021. Upon receipt of this information, O.Ps brought the incident to notice of the Insurance Company-ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. on 21.06.2021. The claim was registered vide Reference No. LIA044135993/#MY/DLH/21/002066. Thereafter, the O.Ps conducted their accident investigation report & submitted all the necessary documents towards the insurance claim on 18.10.2021. Another follow-up was conducted with the Insurance Company Ltd. on 05.09.2022 when the documents pertaining to the insurance claim were submitted again. Clause 1 (a) of the Distributorship Agreement clearly speaks that the appointment of the Distributor is on principal to principal basis for sale of the Corporation’s LPG & as such Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. cannot be held responsible for act of commission or omission of the Distributor, if any. Clause 18 of the Distributorship Agreement executed between the O.P.No.1 & 2,3 clearly states that the Distributor shall at all times fully & effectively indemnify & keep indemnified the Corporation against all losses, damages, claims, liabilities, suits, legal proceedings arising out of the any claim by third parties whether on account of injury to person or loss of life or injury, loss or damage to any property. There is no cause of action against the O.P.No.2 & 3. The complaint is not maintainable & is barred by non-joinder of necessary parties.
O.P.No.4 submits that, the allegations made in the complaint petition are false & the complaint is not maintainable either on facts or in law, against the O.P.No.4. The complainant has no cause of action to bring this complaint. There is no deficiency of service or negligence on the part of the O.P.No.4. The complainant is wholly misconceived, groundless & unsustainable in law as the complainant have no locus standi to initiate the present proceeding & is only to harass the O.P. Complaint is false, frivolous & vexatious. Insurance being a legal contract between the policy holder & the company, both parties are governed by the terms & conditions mentioned in the policy document and all the benefits are payable as per the said policy’s terms & conditions. Unfortunately on dtd.17.06.2021 at about 10.30 A.M. one cylinder belongs to O.Ps Company has been burst accidentally at the time of cooking inside the house of complainant made in complaint petition are totally false, imaginary concocted & vexatious for which O.P.No.4 categorically deny the same because the LPG Cylinder in subject is not belonged to the O.P.No.4.Fire Incident Certificate bearing No.761/Gadi FS dtd.26.06.2021 issued by the office of the Station Officer Fire Station Gadi, Bhadrak reveals that, “there was an outbreak of Fire at Padhisahi (Pirahat), PS-Pirahat, Dist-Bhadrak on dtd.17.06.2021 at about 10.35 hrs 1 (one) Room (thatched house)& all the house hold articles with 01 No. of Indane Gas Cylinder of Sri Pyara Sahaji was burnt by fire. The investigation report of Area Manager of IOCL i.e. O.P.No.2 after due investigation of claim lodged by complainant reveals that, “after cooking food on fire wood by Smt. Lajma Bibi, wife of consumer complainant she went inside the house. Suddenly fire erupted from thatched house of consumer at around 10.35 A.M.& engulfed LPG Cylinder kept inside. House with all household items got burnt including LPG hot stove. O.P.4 emphatically states that, the LPG Cylinder supplied by the O.P.3 to the complainant through O.P.1 was not burst accidentally at the time of cooking inside the house of complainant on 17.06.2021 at 10.30 A.M. O.P.4 states that thatched house of complainant & all his household articles, including golden ornaments, fans, motor pump, LCD TV, utensils, tailor machines, fridge, Palanka, Mobile Phones, Washing Machine & Cash of Rs.20,000/- were not burnt by the said fire whose approximately value Rs.5,59,400/- and some of the family members including the complainant have not sustained burnt injury on his body on 17.06.2021 arising out of leakage from cylinder supplied by the insured & for their treatment complainant has not spent Rs.80,000/-. Complainant could not furnish the original medical bills to the deputed surveyor/loss assessors. Hence this O.P. is not liable to pay any compensation towards cost of medicine, doctor fees & cost of litigation. There is no material in the alleged claim that the complainant has sustained loss/ damage of property due to leakage of LPG cylinder supplied by the O.P.3 through O.P.1 on 17.06.2021. O.P. No.4 has already Rs.2,00,000/- to the insured O.P.2 & 3 on 23.05.2023 vide UTR No.CMS3301965623 towards full & final settlement of claim for loss or damage of the property of the complainant.
Having heard the rival contentions and after scrutinizing the materials available in the case record, this commission frames the following issues for fair and just adjudication of the case.
ISSUES.
- Whether a fire incident has occurred at the time and place as alleged by the complainant?
- Whether the said fire incident occurred due to bursting/leakage of the Gas Cylinder of the OPs?
- Whether liability can be fastened to OP No.2 & 3 for the loss and damage caused to the Complainant?
- Whether these OPs have caused deficiency in service?
- What loss and damage was thereby caused to the complainant?
- What relief the complainant is entitled to?
The prompt reporting to all concerned stake holders and the Fire Report of the Fire Officer, the Fire Investigation Report of the OP No.2 & 3 makes it abundantly clear that the fire incident took place at the house of the complainant on 17/06/2021 at 10.30 am. Issue No.1 is answered in affirmative and in favour of the complainant.
As it reveals from the reports and immensity of the loss and suddenness of the fire, it can be culled that the fire has broken from leakage of Gas Cylinder. In lack of any contrary evidence, this commission believes that the said fire incident occurred from the Gas Cylinder of OP. Issue No.2 is also answered in affirmative and in favour of the complainant and against these OPs.
The contention of OP No.2 & 3 is that they have appointed OP No.1 as their Distributor on a principal to principal basis for sale of the Corporation’s LPG & as such Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. cannot be held responsible for act of commission or omission of the Distributor, if any and apart from selling good for resale to distributor they have no responsibility for acts of the distributor. The occurrence with the complainant happened during the subsistence of distributorship of OP No.1 with OP No.2 & 3. Therefore, the OP No.2 & 3 being the company is certainly vicariously liable for the deficiency on part of OP No.1, their agent. The OP No.1 is still continuing as a distributor under OP No.2 & 3. It is appreciated that OP No.2 & 3 must be having substantial control over his distributor and could have overseen the matter of compensating the complainant even after getting the legal notice from the complainant. But they preferred to brood over the matter for an inordinately long period. On this score also, the OP No.2 & 3 are found to be deficient in providing service. So, this commission finds all these OPs jointly and severally liable to compensate the loss caused to the complainant. Thus, Issue No.4 is answered in affirmative and in favour of complainant and against OP No.2 & 3.
All these OPs have not shown any eagerness to solve the issue. They have procrastinated the matter. As per the version of OP No.4, it has paid an amount of Rs.2,00,000/- meant to be paid to the complainant since May 2023 but during these 6months none of these OPs have shown any eagerness or promptitude to pay the amount to the complainant. These OPs are lackadaisical in their attitude and willfully omitted to do what ought to have been done. So, all these OPs have jointly found to be negligent and deficient in providing service for which the matter prolonged for such period.
Issue No. 5 & 6 are taken together into discussion. The complainant alleges that all his household articles, including golden ornaments, fans, motor pump, LCD TV, utensils, tailor machines, fridge, Palanka, Mobile Phones, Washing Machine & Cash of Rs.20,000/- were not burnt by the said fire whose approximately value Rs.5,59,400/-. Apart from that the complainant and her wife has sustained burn injuries in their person. The articles mentioned are old, used articles and depreciated in value. Similarly, the initial treatment of the complainant and his wife has been done at the government hospital which is free of any charges. Further, the complainant has failed to show prescription and cash memos to the surveyor of OP No.4. Under these circumstances, the loss and damage caused to the complainant is quantified on a Non-standard basis at the rate of 50% of the claimed amount. The total claim made by the complainant is Rs.5,59,400/-+ Rs.80,000/-= Rs.6,39,400/-. 50% of the claim amount becomes Rs.3,19,700/-; rounded off Rs.3,20,000/- . This amount of compensation shall do well to serve the purpose of compensating the loss and damage caused to the complainant.
O R D E R.
In the result, the complaint is partially allowed. These OPs are directed to pay a sum of Rs. 3,20,000/- to the complainant along with another Rs. 50,000/- for mental agony and suffering and another Rs.5,000/- towards litigation cost within 30 days from the date of order. In the event these OPs fail to make the payment to the complainant in the specified time, they shall pay the amount along with 6% interest till the date the actual payment is made.
This order is pronounced in the open Court on this the 14th day of November 2023 under my hand and seal of the Commission.
