SRI NAYANANANDA DASH,MEMBER:-
Deficiency in service in respect of non-delivery of Rural Postal Life Insurance Bond are the allegations arrayed against the Opp.Parties.
2. The complainant’s case, in short, is that, the complainant purchased a RPLI Policy from Patrapur Post Office on dtd. 01.01.2009 bearing Policy No.R-OR-GY-67159 for a sum assured of Rs.20,000/-. The acceptance letter and the pass book was received by the Policy Holder Smt. Sulochana Sahoo but the Policy Bond was not sent. Inspite of several personal contacts and correspondence, with different postal authorities the Policy Bond was not delivered. Smt. Sulochana Sahoo has not been able to get the survival benefit in time due to absence of the Policy Bond, as a result of which she was unable to spend for her illness and pasing time with mental imbalance. She even wrote her problem to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, but even after that, no fruitful action was done by the Postal Authorities. Hence, Smt. Sahoo has filed this C.C.Case with a prayer before this Forum to get back his Policy bond, interest on survival benefits alongwith cost of litigation.
3. The Opp.Party, i.e. the Deputy Divisional Manager(PLI) Office of the CPMG,Odisha Circle,Bhubaneswar in their written version, has admitted the existence of the Policy as stated by the complainant as true and has further stated that the Policy Bond was sent to the policy Holder. They have stated that it was the normal provision and practice to send the premium receipt book to the insured in a window envelope alongwith the Policy Bond and the Policy Bond only contains the address of the insured. The address printed on the Policy Bond is the address for the letter and there is no provision for writing the name and address on t he envelope. As the insured had received the premium receipt book, she might have received the Policy Bond. Further the Postal Deptt. Says that there is provision that survival benefit claim in respect of any money back policy has to be made by the insured by submitting the filled signed application and the premium receipt book and there is no necessity to submit the original policy bond to get the survival benefit claim. Further, the Postal Authorities have stated that the insured has not applied for sanction of survival benefit by submitting the filled in signed application.
4. On perusal of records and submissions of both the parties where the Postal Authorities have denied the allegations of the complainant of not supplying the Policy bond of PLI and have stated the mode of delivery of the Policy Bond alongwith acceptance letter and the premium receipt Book wherein the address in the Bond is used as Postal address for delivery. But it can not be surmised that a Lady belonging to Rural area subscribing a PLI will go to the extent of filing a case against a Central Govt. Deptt. Like the Indian Post for getting her Policy Bond after actually receiving the said one. Further, the apathy of the Opp.parties in replying suitably towards a number of correspondence the complainant had made shows their casual attitude towards their valuable customers’s grievances. The complainant as a result of non-receipt of Policy Bond has not been able to receive the survival benefit (Money Bank) in time which amounts to bew deficiency in service on the part of the Opp.Parties. Hence, we order as follows:-
O R D E R
That, the complaint petition is allowed in part on contest against the Opp.parties. We direct the OP no.4 to immediately issue the Policy Bond to the complainant by Regd.Post and also to make payment of the survival benefit alongwith interest @ 12 per cent from the date it is due for payment till the date of payment. The complainant is also directed to submit the documents necessary for payment of survival benefit to the Opp.parties. We would further order for payment of Rs.1000/- to the complainant towards compensation for mental agony as cost to be paid by the Opp.parties to the complainant. The above directions of the Forum should be complied by the Opp.parties within one month from the date of this order. Parties to bear their own cost of litigation.
Pronounced in the open Court, this the 24th day of October,2014.
I, agree. I, agree.
Sd/- Sd/- Sd/-
MEMBER PRESIDENT MEMBER
