Hon'ble Mr. Sudip Niyogi, President
This case arises out of a petition u/s 12 of the CP Act, 1986 filed by the petitioners against the OP claiming several relief(s). In short, the case of the petitioners is that one Samar Kr. Ghosh (since deceased), who was the husband of petitioner No.1 had opened a joint Savings Bank Account being No.396010100036625 with the OP Bank, Cooch Behar in the name of himself and his wife. The said deceased obtained one Titanium Rewards Debit Card (Prime) from the OP Bank with full personal Accident Coverage of Rs.5 lakh in case of accidental death. The number of the said card is 5327 0202 2402 8970. Unfortunately, however, on 17.10.17 said Samar Kr. Ghosh met with a Motor accident and died and Kotwali PS Case No.724 dated 17.10.17 u/s 279, 304 (A) and 427 IPC was started against the Driver of the offending Truck No.WB-71-A-0191 in connection with the said accident. The post-mortem examination of the deceased was done at MJN Hospital, Cooch Behar. Subsequently, the petitioners being the legal heirs of the said deceased, approached the OP Bank several times to get the amount of insurance coverage, but the OP did not respond to their requests. Written complaints dated 08.03.18 and 21.09.19 were submitted with the OP Bank claiming the amount of insurance coverage but that too produced no result and finally, the petitioners were compelled to issue a notice through their Advocate, which was received by the OP but even thereafter they did not respond. As a result, the petitioners filed this instant case before this Commission claiming Rs.5 lakh towards the amount of insurance coverage with interest, Rs. 1 lakh for mental pain, agony and deficiency of service and Rs.20,000/- as litigation cost.
From the materials on record, it is found that notice of this case was duly served upon the OP, but they did not prefer to contest the case. No written statement was also submitted by them. So, the case was heard ex-parte.
POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION
- Is the instant case is maintainable?
- Is the Complainant is entitled to get any relief?
- To what other relief, if any, Complainant is entitled?
DECISION WITH REASONS
Point No.1.
The petitioners herein being the legal heirs of deceased Samar Kr. Ghosh approached this Commission as their legitimate claim was not met by the OP. Said deceased had an insurance coverage against accidental death from the OP. The claim amount is Rs. 5 lakh. Considering the nature of the claim and other materials, the instant case is found to be maintainable.
Point No.2 & 3.
On behalf of the petitioners, evidence on affidavit and also written argument were filed. This apart, all the necessary documents viz. Savings Bank Pass Book with the OP Bank in the name of Petitioner No.1 and her deceased husband Samar Kr. Ghosh, Titanium Rewards Debit Card (Prime) bearing No. 5327 0202 2402 8970, copies of written complaint, which was submitted with the OP Bank, legal notice issued by their Lawyer, FIR of the Criminal Case arising out of the alleged accident, Seizure List and Post-mortem Report have been produced before this Commission.
On going through all these documents and also considering the evidences, it is found that the said deceased Samar Kr. Ghosh and his wife (herein Petitioner No.1) had opened a Savings Bank Account with the OP Bank and also obtained Titanium Rewards Debit Card (Prime) issued by OP Bank. It is also found that the deceased had personal insurance coverage upto Rs.5 lakh. The copy of the port-mortem examination report in respect of the said deceased reveals his death was due to the injuries which he sustained in the alleged accident. Written complaints and formal FIR alongwith seizure list reveal that one criminal case was started by Kotwali PS u/s 279, 304 (A) and 427 IPC in connection with the alleged accident.
It is further found that written complaints by the petitioner No.1 claiming insurance coverage were submitted twice with the OP Bank, as she did not get any respond and ultimately, she had to send legal notice through her Advocate claiming for realization of the amount of insurance coverage. Surprisingly, the OP maintained a stoic silence thereby compelling the petitioners to approach before this Commission. The alleged accident occurred on 17.10.17 and notice on behalf of the petitioners was issued by the Lawyer on 28.11.19. So, quite a long time has already been elapsed without the petitioners having received the legitimate benefit from the OP. It is quite surprising, despite having been approached several times in various ways by the petitioners, the OP remains indifferent. This indifference attitude on behalf of the OP, is not only painful but also highly irritating on considering the plight of the petitioners who had to face an unexpected tragic incident in their family where they lose the only earning member in their family, thereby plunging into a world of immense grief, frustration and almost a hopeless future.
The attitude and the conduct of the OP in not complying or deliberately dilly dallying with their liability to make payment of the amount of insurance coverage for apparently without any reason, smacks of a tendency of unfair trade practices. On consideration of all the facts and circumstances, we find that the petitioners have been able to prove their case against the OP.
Hence, it is
Ordered,
That the instant case be and the same is allowed ex-parte. The petitioners are entitled to Rs.5 lakh, which is the amount of insurance coverage alongwith interest from the OP. They are also entitled to Rs.20, 000/- towards mental pain, agony and harassment.
The OP is, therefore, directed to pay the amount of insurance coverage of Rs.5 lakh (Rupees Five Lakh) only alongwith interest @8% per annum from 01.01.2018 till the date of realization by issuing an Account Payee Cheque in the name of the petitioner No.1. The OP is also directed to pay Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty thousand) only towards mental pain, agony and harassment to the Petitioner No.1. The OP is further directed to pay Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five thousand) only towards litigation cost to the petitioners. The OP is directed to make payment to the petitioners within 45 days from the date of this order, failing which, the entire amount on different counts shall carry interest @10% per annum, which the OP is liable to pay.
Let plain copy of this Order be supplied to the parties concerned by hand/by Post forthwith, free of cost for information & necessary action, if any.
The copy of the Final Order also available in the official Website: www.confonet.nic.in.
Dictated and corrected by me.
