Per – Hon’ble Mr. S. R. Khanzode, Judicial Member
Heard Adv. A. S. Vidyarthi on behalf of the Appellant and Mr. Anandrao Mahadeo Salokhe, the Respondent, party in person.
[2] This appeal takes an exception to an order dated 17/8/1999, passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Kolhapur (‘the Forum’ in short) in Consumer Complaint No.222 of 1999, Mr. Anandrao Mahadeo Salokhe Vs. Life Insurance Corporation of India. It was a complaint of alleged deficiency in service on the part of the Appellant/original Opponent, namely – Life Insurance Corporation of India (hereinafter referred to as the ‘LIC’ for the sake of brevity) for repudiating the insurance claim on the death of the Respondent/original Complainant’s wife, namely – Smt. Shantabai, who died on 8/4/1998. Late Smt. Shantabai was serving as a nurse (A. N. M.) at a primary health centre at Sangrul. She was suffering from diabetes including the period 8/9/1993 to 29/2/1996. She had also taken leave from time to time on medical grounds. She died due to a heart-attack. The insurance claim was repudiated on the ground of breach of utmost good faith. Feeling aggrieved thereby, a consumer complaint was filed by the Respondent/original Complainant. The Forum upheld the case of the Respondent/original Complainant and awarded compensation of `1,00,000/- payable alongwith interest thereon @ 18% p.a., with effect from 8/7/1998. Feeling aggrieved by the impugned order, this appeal is filed by the LIC.
[3] The facts to which a reference is made earlier are not in dispute. Similarly, the papers filed on the record are also not in dispute viz. the claim form, certificate issued by the employer which recorded the history of medical leave taken by Late Smt. Shantabai during the period September-1993 to February-1998 from time to time for her suffering due to diabetes and heart disease and also the letter wherein answers given in the proposal form were reproduced. However, it is tried to be submitted by the Respondent/original Complainant that the answers given in the said proposal form were got written not by his wife but, she simply signed it. Once signing of the said document is admitted, it is for the Respondent/original Complainant to establish the case to disown said document. On the contrary, even the statement made in her complaint shows that for several years prior to taking of the insurance policy Late Smt. Shantabai was suffering from diabetes and even a heart disease, she had taken treatment for the same, and besides that she had also taken a medical leave from time to time, as established from the certificate issued by her employer. This particular information was consciously suppressed while taking the insurance policy by Late Smt. Shantabai. Thus, repudiation of the insurance claim by LIC on the ground of breach of utmost good faith cannot be faulted with. Therefore, there being no deficiency in service on the part of the LIC, to entertain and allow the consumer complaint is per-se erroneous. The Forum did not appreciate these facts properly nay perversely and arrived at a wrong conclusion. In the circumstances, the impugned order cannot be allowed to be sustained in law. We hold accordingly and pass the following order:-
ORDER
The appeal is allowed.
Impugned order dated 17/8/1999 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Kolhapur in Consumer Complaint No.222 of 1999 hereby stands set aside. Consequently, the consumer complaint stands dismissed.
In the circumstances, parties to bear their own costs.
Pronounced and dictated on 29th November, 2011
