DATE OF FILING                    :     29-04-2015.

DATE OF S/R                            :      24-07-2015.

DATE OF FINAL ORDER       :     19-04-2016.  

Dr. Sujata Pal,  

daughter of late Sadhan Chandra Pal,

residing at Block RO, Flat 6,

193, Andul Road, near Chitranjan School, Shibpur,

Howrah Municipal Corporation, Shibpur,

Howrah 711109 and also

Pakurtala, Andul Road Duilya,

Howrah 711302.   ……………………………………………………  COMPLAINANT.

• Versus   -

1.         The Branch Manager,

AVIVA  Life Insurance Company India Ltd.,

having its branch office at

5, M.G. Road, 1^st floor,

HMC Stadium Complex, Howrah Maidan,

Howrah 711101.

2.         The Manager,

AVIVA  Life Insurance Company India Ltd.,

having its corporate office at

125/1, Park Street,

Kolkata 700017.

3.         The General Manager,

AVIVA Life Insurance Company India Ltd.,

having its registered office at 2^nd floor, Prakash Deep Building,

7, Tolstoy Marg,

New Delhi 110001………………………………………….OPPOSITE PARTIES.

P    R    E     S    E    N     T

Hon’ble President  :   Shri  B. D.  Nanda,  M.A. ( double ), L.L.M., WBHJS.

Hon’ble Member      :      Smt. Jhumki Saha.

Hon’ble Member : Shri A.K. Pathak .

F  I   N   A    L       O   R   D    E     R

1. Complainant,  namely Dr. Sujata Pal,  by filing a petition U/S 12 of the C .P. Act, 1986 ( as amended up to date ) has prayed for a direction to be given upon the o.ps. to pay  Rs. 47,097/- in respect of policy described in schedule ‘A’, to pay Rs. 2,00,000/- as compensation along  with other relief or reliefs as the  Forum may deem fit and proper. 

2. Brief fact of the case is that  complainant  purchased a policy from the o.ps. insurance company in the year 2006 vide policy no. WSG1392961 on payment of Rs. 24,000/- as annual premium through an agent of o.p. company vide Annexure ‘A’ to be continued for three consecutive years. At the time of  signing the proposal form, the agent of o.p. company told the complainant that thepremiumwill be depositedonly for a consecutive period of three yearsand she can withdraw the money after completion of three years. On good faith, she deposited three annual premiums. Then on receipt of the premium notice after three years even, she was surprised and visited the office of o.ps. and met one officer of o.ps. from whom she understood that she was misguided by the agent of the o.p. company because the policy was actually for a long period of 15 years. Thereafter the complainant decided to surrender the policy and she was advised by o.p. no. 1 that she must continue the policy by way of paying 10 premiums i.e., till 2015 in order to evade the surrender charge but complainant continued the policy upto 2010. Suddenly on or about December, 2011, one Kakali Das, presented herself as the deputy manager of the o.p. no. 1 company, met and advised her not to continue the aforesaid policy because it has no future prospect and she further proposed that without surrendering the aforesaid policy the complainant should switch over her policyto a unique linked plan whereby the part of the premium, so paid by the complainant in the aforesaid policy would be refunded by the complainant in her bank a/c by ECS and the balance amount would be kept by the company i.e., o.p. no. 1. And complainant in order to avail the newly proposed plan, had to purchase a policy of single premium of Rs. 1,01,546/-, split into two policies premium being Rs. 50,773/- each. Thereafter complainant got refund Rs. 72,903/-through NEFT out of total premium paid Rs. 1,20,000/-in earlier policy and the balance amount ofRs. 47,097/- was reinvested with the o.ps. for its growth with an assurance that it shall be refunded on the maturity of the two policy being nos. APB0027933, APB0027766 which are linked with the first policy being no. WSG1392961. But unfortunately on enquiry about the matter in the office of the o.ps., complainant came to know that the said Smt. Kakali Das has totally misguided the complainant only to kill the free look period for cancellation of the two new policies. Immediately complainant wrote to the o.ps. vide e.mail dated 23.10.2012 with the request to make arrangement for refunding the balance amount of Rs. 47,097/- with respect to her first policy and o.ps. gave a reply on 31.10.2012 but till date has not received the said amount. Complainant further sent an e.mail on 08.04.2015 to the o.ps. but she did not get any reply from their side. Finding no other alternative the complainant filed this instant complaint with the aforesaid prayers. Hence the complaint.

3. Notices  were served.  O.ps. appeared  and  filed    written version. Accordingly, case was heard on contest.

4. Upon pleadings of both parties two points arose for determination :

1. Is there any deficiency in service on the part of the O.Ps.  ?

2. Whether the complainant is   entitled to get any relief as prayed for ? 

DECISION  WITH   REASONS      :

5. Both the points are  taken up together for consideration.  We have carefully gone through the complaint petition along with the annexures filed by the complainant and W/V filed by the o.ps. along with the annexures and noted their  contents denying and disputing all material allegations of the complainant made out against them in her complaint petition. O.ps. have stated that in the policy schedule being policy WSG1392961, the policy term is clearly written as 15 years and the surrender lock-in-period was for three year. But on prayer of the complainant, complainant got the refund the surrendered value of the said policy being an amount of Rs. 72,903/-  and o.ps. have never promised her to refund the balance amount of Rs. 47,097/-. Neither the complainant was misguided by any official of the o.ps.   Complainant on her own will had purchased two other policies and as the complainant prayed for cancellation of the two policies after freelook period, o.ps. vide their e.mail  dated 31.10.2012 informed the complainant that the cancellation of the policies is not possible because the freelook period was already over. On perusal of the Annexure ‘A’ i.e. Schedule of policy being WSG1392961, it is clear that the policy term was 15 years and the date of last payment of premium is 30.11.2020. It is a unit linked policy, too. So it is clear that complainant has got the fund value of that policy on the date of surrender of the said policy. So we do not find any deficiency in service on the part of the o.ps. and with respect to the prayer no. 2 this Forum has no jurisdiction to pass any order with respect to any criminal case filed by either of the parties. And with respect to the extension of the free look period , this Forum is not in a position to pass any order  because the 15 days’ freelook period has been framed by IRDA.  Under the above circumstances,  we are of the candid opinion that the petition of complaint be dismissed on merit.   Accordingly the case fails.

     Hence,

                                    O     R     D      E      R      E        D

      That the C. C. Case No. 163  of 2015 ( HDF 163  of 2015 )  be  dismissed  on contest   without  costs.     

      Supply the copies of the order to the parties, free of costs.        

DICTATED  &    CORRECTED

BY   ME.  

  (    Jhumki Saha)                                              

  Member,  C.D.R.F., Howrah.