The titled complainant, aggrieved at 'rejection' of his car-accident insurance-claim addressed as 'No Claim' by the opposite parties, pertaining to repairs of his accident-ed (insured) Car Registration Certificate No. PB-35-U-7729; has filed the present complaint against the OP insurers having insured his Car comprehensively vide Policy # 40130031166100000648. Somehow, the insured Car got damaged in a road-accident on 03.07.2016; the OP insurers were duly intimated and the damaged Car was handed over for repairs to M/s Padam Cars Pvt. Ltd., Ludhiana; at the very instance of the OP insurers. In the meantime, the said workshop got temporarily non-functional on account of some internal dispute and thus the repairs/delivery of the repaired vehicle was inordinately delayed. The OP insurers very well understood the cause of delay & non-submission of the final claim but instead of exhibiting co-operation/forbearance on their part, had hurriedly rejected the repairs-claim on 18.10.2017 on the pretext of non-submission of the requisitioned information.

2.       As a result of the complainant's persistent follow-up the repaired-car was finally delivered to him against payment @ Rs.4,38,567/- as amount of the repair bill (Ex.C5) drawn by M/s Padam Motors Pvt. Ltd., upon him. The complainant pleads having submitted the final claim to the OP1 insurers and requested them in person and also through (Ex.C2 to Ex.C4 & Ex.C6) e-mails etc., to pay the repairs bill-claim, in full, but upon their refusal has filed the present complaint seeking issuance of directives to the OP insurers to pay him the repair-bills of Rs.4,38,567/- with interest besides Rs.50,000/- as compensation, Rs.20,000/- for deficiency in service and Rs.10,000/- as cost of litigation.

3.       The titled opposite party insurers (the OP insurers) appeared in compliance to the commission’s summons/notice through their counsel and filed the written reply stating therein preliminary as well as other objections (on merits) as:

4.       The complainant has no cause of action/locus-standee to file the present complaint which is time-barred besides being totally false and frivolous and he has not come to the honorable court with clean hands so all its allegations are denied. Further, the insurance is a contract between the two parties and both are bound by its terms & conditions and these cannot be increased or decreased. Further, there has been no deficiency in service on their part. On merits, the OP Insurers have admitted having insured the complainant's car that met with an accident on 03.07.2016 and upon getting intimation the OP2 had requisitioned some vital information that were not provided to them in spite of the four reminders and hence the claim was finally declared as 'No Claim' on account of his non-cooperative attitude and there's no deficiency in service on their part. The complainant has been senselessly demanding the cost of repairs sans submission of the requisitioned information necessary to determine the eligibility of the impugned claim. Lastly the OP insurers seek dismissal of the present complaint with special costs U/35-A of the CPC.

5.       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 put forth by the learned counsels for their respective litigants. We find that the present dispute has arisen on account of the impugned ‘rejection' of the car-accident insurance-claim by the OP insurers on account of the alleged 'non-cooperative' attitude of the complainant in his reply/supply of the requisitioned information/documents, in promptness of time, little realizing the hardships as faced by the insured on account of temporary closure of operations at the repair workshop besides other time-consuming exercises/processes involved in preparing an acceptable/presentable claim for the insurers.  

6.       We further find that the OP insurers have not rebutted vide some cogent evidence the quantum of the repair bills by way of an independent assessment of accident-loss to the car preferably through an expert IRDA approved surveyor/automobile engineer and that amounts to acceptance of the same, in totality.

7.       In the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and ORDER the herein opposite party insurers to pay Rs.4,38,567/- to the complainant being the amount of the impugned claim along with interest @ 6% PA w.e. from the date of the complaint besides Rs.10,000/- as compensation and Rs.5,000/- as cost of litigation within 45 days of the receipt of the certified copy of these orders otherwise the aggregate awarded amount shall attract an additional interest @ 3% PA from the date of the orders till paid in full.                                         

8.         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.

9.        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)

JULY 27, 2022.                                          Member.

YP.