ORDER NO.  5 DT. 08.10.2010

HON’BLE JUSTICE MR. P.K.SAMANTA, PRESIDENT

          Appellant is present through Mr. Pralay Kar, Ld. Advocate.  Respondent No. 1 through Mr. S.Nayak, Ld. Advocate, and the Respondent Nos. 2 & 3 through Mr. Avik K Dutt, Ld. Advocate are also present.  Respondent Nos. 2 & 3 file BNA.  Heard the Ld. Advocates.  Judgement is as follows :-

 This Appeal raises a very short point as to whether the complaint case was filed within the prescribed period of limitation.

          The complainant is the wife of the deceased husband who died in an accident on 4.4.06.  It is not in dispute that the said husband of the complainant was covered by a Janata Personal Accident Insurance Policy issued by the Appellant/New India Assurance Co. Ltd. on 8.9.98 under Policy No. 4751220001272.  The said policy was due to expire on 7.9.08.  The said husband of the complainant died on the self-same day, i.e. on 4.4.06, when he met with such accident.  The complainant being a nominee of her deceased husband lodged a claim with the Appellant/Insurance Co. on 30.6.06.  It has been stated in the complaint case that the Appellant/Insurance Co. upon receipt of the said claim with all requisite papers, documents and declarations remained silent and did not intimate anything to the complainant regarding payment of her claim.  Whenever she went to meet the officers of the Appellant Company it was told that a case was pending in the High Court, Kolkata, between the Appellant/Insurance Co. and Golden Trust Financial Services, through which the said insurance policy was taken by the husband of the complainant.  After waiting for some time the aforesaid complaint case was filed on 9.9.09.  Accordingly, it has been urged on behalf of the Appellant/Insurance Co. that the complaint case having been filed after expiry of two years from the date of lodging of the claim by a letter dt. 30.6.06 the same was barred by limitation.

          In the written version to the above complaint case the Appellant/Insurance Co. had nowhere taken any plea that the said claim of the complainant was repudiated on any particular day.  On the other hand, in Paragraph-4 of the said written version it has merely been stated that the present complaint of the complainant was barred by limitation without specifying as to how the same became barred on the date of filing of the complaint case.  In the circumstances as above and more particularly, regard being had to the fact that the Appellant/Insurance Company has not been able to establish on the strength of any material and/or any cogent evidence that the claim of the complainant was repudiated any time after the same was lodged by the complainant by its letter dt. 30.6.06, we are of the firm view that the claim of the complainant has not yet been repudiated and as such, it cannot be said that the claim of the complainant on the date of making of the complaint case was barred by limitation.  For the reasons as aforesaid, we do not find any merit whatsoever in this Appeal and the same is accordingly dismissed.