OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, KAMRUP,GUWAHATI
C.C.27/2011
Present:-
1)Md.Sahadat Hussain, A.J.S. - President
2)Smti Archana Deka Lahkar - Member
Mrs.Kusum Mishra -Complainant
W/O Sri Biren Misra
C.O Binita Goswami
Vill-Kakaya,P.O.Belsor,
Dist:-Nalbari,Assam
-vs-
1) The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. - Opp.parties
Khanapara Branch,
Sixmile,Guwahati-22
P.S.Dispur
Distr:-Kamrup(M)Assam)
To be represented by its Branch Manager.
2) The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.,
Divisional Office-III
Chandmari,Guwahati-3
P.O.Chandmari,
Distr:-Kamrup(M)Assam)
To be represented by its Divisional Manager.
Appearance-
Learned advocates for the complainant- Mr.M.C.Bhatta.
Learned advocates for the opp.parties - Ms.V.L.Talukdar.
Date of argument- 17.2.2017
Date of judgment- 28.2.2017
JUDGMENT
This is a complaint u/s 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
1) The complainant filed by Smti Kusum Mishra was admitted on 27.5.2011 and notices were served upon both the opp.parties and they also filed against statement. The complainant filed her evidence in affidavit and also filed joint written statement. The complainant filed her evidence in affidavit and also filed the evidence of one Pranjal Raybaruah in affidavit and they also cross-examined by the oopp.party side. Opp.party side also filed evidence of one Sri Biswajit Talukdar and he was cross examined by the complainant side . Finally, on 21.9.2016, ld advocate Mr.M.C.Bhatta filed written argument for the complainant and ld advocate Ms.V.L.Talukdar filed written argument for the opp.party on 21.9.2016. Thereafter , on 17.2.17, we heard oral argument of both sides’ ld advocate and today, we deliver our judgment which is as below.
2) The complainants’ case in brief is that her vehicle vide Redg.No. AS-01/BC-6396 (truck) which was insured with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., Khanapara branch,Guwahati, vide policy No. 321302/31/2011/748 with effective from 12.6.2010 to 11.6.2011, had met with an accident on 28.6.2010 at Bikrampur Chariali (Sibsagar) over N.H.37 was severelly damaged and Sibsagar P.S. vide G.D.E.No. 1143 dt.28.6.2010, investigated the case and she on that day informed the Sibsagar Branch of the Insurance Company about the accident and on 29.6.2010 informed the Branch Manager of Khanapara branch of the insurance company about the accident in written, and the vehicle was towed and brought to Guwahati and put in the garage of M/S India Automobile Works, Lakhra, (Guwahati) for repair and the surveyor of the Opp.Party No.1 surveyed the vehicle and M/s India Automobile Works estimated repairing charge including list of required parts to be replaced and submitted to Opp.Party No.1 in the time. She incurred an expenditure of Rs.23,000/- as crane charge for carrying the said vehicle to Guwahati. M/S India Automobile Works repaired the vehicle and also submitted one additional estimate and submitted to Opp.Party No.1 and she purchased required spare parts from M/S Gayatri Trading Co.,Lakhra ,(Guwahati) amounting to Rs.52,474/-(Rupees fifty two thousand four hundred seventy four) and also paid Rs.1,15,000/- (Rupees one lakh fifteen thousand) to M/S India Automobile Works as repairing charge against their bill of Rs.1,17,000/-( Rupees one lakh seventeen thousand) , she then lodged claim with the Khanapara branch of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. claiming Rs.1,90,424/- (Rupees one lakh ninety thousand four hundred twenty four) as repairing charge including cost of parts purchased and the towing charge, but the opp.party, vide letter dated 23.12.2010, informed her that her claim was approved for Rs.64,855/- (Rupees sixty four thousand eight hundred fifty five) only, but she refused to accept the said amount but vide her letter dated, 7.3.2011 requested the Opp.Party No.1 & 2 to review the settlement of the claim amount. But none of them took step for review. The opp.parties are liable to pay her Rs.1,90,424/- as repairing charge and Rs.1,00,000/- etc.with interest at the rate of 12% for causing harassment and mental agony to her and also to pay Rs.54,000/- as cost of the proceeding.
3) The gist of the pleading of the opp.party side is that they received the information about the accident only on 7.7.10 and the complainant vide letter dated 19.10.10, informed them that repairing of her truck was completed and she also vide that latter requested them to arrange the insurance claim. After receiving the information about the accident on 7.7.10, they sent investigator to investigate the accident and the D.L .of the driver of the vehicle; and also sent surveyor to survey the damage in time and post-dismantling condition of the vehicle vide their letter dtd. 12.7.2010 and the surveyor also filed his report on 6.11.10 who assessed the loss at Rs.70,550/- after doing physical verification of the vehicle. The opp.parties deducted Rs.5,000/-for the assessment done by the surveyor and settled the claim for Rs.64,855/-(Rupees sixty four thousand eight hundred fifty five) as per terms and condition of the policy and asked the complainant, vide their letter dated 23.12.2010, to accept the same but she refused to accept the same. The claim was lawfully settled at Rs.64,855/- verifying all the relevant factors; and hence question of causing harassment to her does not arise at all. The surveyor properly surveyed the vehicle, and estimated the damage and hence the complainant is not entitled to get any relief from them as prayed.
4) We have perused the evidence fo the parties as well as the arguments of both sides’ counsels and found that the vehicle of the complainant which is a truck vide Registration No. AS-01/BC-6396 (truck) ,which was insured with Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., Khanapara branch, Guwahati, vide policy No. 321302/31/2011/748 with validity from 12.6.2010 to 11.6.2011, had met with an accident at Bikrampur Chariali (Sibsagar) over N.H.37 on 28.6.2010 at about 10-30 p.m. and the police of SivsagarP.S. investigated the case vide Sibsagar P.S. G.D.E.No. 1143 dt.28.6.2010; and that the complainant informed the Sivsagar branch of opp.party about the accident on the very next day and also informed Opp.Party No.1 on 6.7.2010 about the accident in written form, and thatvehicle was towed from Sibsagar and put in the garage of M/S India Automobile Works, Lakhra,Guwahati and the said garage repaired the said vehicle and the surveyor of the opp.party surveyed the quantum of damage suffered by the said vehicle and he also filed survey report to Opp.Party No.1 on 6.11.2010 and the said surveyor settled the claim of damage at RS.69,855/- and the opp.party side, vide letter dtd. 23.12.2010, informed the complainant to receive the said amount , but she refused to accept the same . It is also both sides’ admitted fact that the complainant filed claim before Opp.Party No.1 on 6.7.2010 (Ex.9) seeking reimbursement the repairing cost which she had paid to M/S India Automobile Works, Lakhra ,Guwahati but the opp.parties settled the compensation at Rs.64,855/- and requested the complainant vide their letter dtd. 23.12.2010 and she refused to accept the same; and that on 8.1.2011 the complainant’s advocate issued a legal notice to Opp.Party No.1 asking them to pay her compensation to the tune of Rs.1,41,200/- and the complainant herself also vide her letter dtd. 7.3.2011 (Ex.25) issued notice to Opp.Party No.1 to settle her claim at Rs.1,41,200/- but the opp.party side has not settled the claim as per her demand . It is also found that the settlement of the claim at Rs. 64,855/- was not accepted by the complainant .
5) Now, main dispute is the quantum of compensation, which is cost of repairing of the vehicle including cost of spare parts fitted and the towing charge.
As per the complainant, spare parts to the tune of Rs.52,424/- were fitted in the said vehicle in the repairing after the accident; and both sides also admit that the complainant purchased the spare parts of that amount and fitted in the vehicle. Both sides also admit that as per terms of the insurance policy the complainant is entitled to 50% of said amount which is Rs.26,212/-.
As per complainant, she paid Rs.1,41,000/- as charge of the repairing of her vehicle. The complainant side submitted one voucher of repairing charge given by M/S India Automobile Works, Lakhra (Ex.18) and as per said voucher the bill of repairing charge Rs.1,17,550/- . The complainant also submits money receipts of the said garage vide exhibit -19 which shows that the said garage received Rs.1,15,000/- from her as repairing charge against their bill (Ex18) .
We have perused the survey report which is Ext.A and found that the surveyor surveyed the damage on 12.7.10 and 28.9.2010 and that fact is admitted by the complainant.
It is found from the survey report that , the surveyor originally estimated cost of labour charge Rs.1,00,400/- and cost of spare parts of Rs.50,000/- totaling Rs.1,54,000/-, but he finally assessed cost of labour charge at Rs.58,500/-only and cost of spare parts Rs. 10,550/- and he also assessed recovery charge at Rs. 2500/-, but he has not given how he has assessed out that rates , nor he has given certificate of market rates of labour charge, nor given details of parts purchased and their prices. So, we hold that the surveyor assessed the labour charge, value of spare parts and the value of recovery charge basing on no reason. Therefore, her version cannot be accepted, but what the complainant estimated much be accepted. So, as per surveyor, the estimated labour charge is Rs.1,04,000/- and it is in slight different with the final bill of repairing charge given by the complainant which is Rs.1,15,000/-. Therefore, it is believable that the bill amount of repairing charge to the tune of Rs.1,15,000/- is not extremely beyond the charge estimated by the surveyor of the opp.party. So, we hold that the said bill of repairing charge is supported by the estimate of repairing charge made by the surveyor and hence, we find no ground to reject the bill of repairing charge to the tune of Rs.1,15,000/- as given by the complainant; and so the bill of said amount is accepted as legitimate bill of repairing charge . So, we hold that the complainant is entitled to Rs.1,15,000/- in the head of repairing charge . We have already found that the complainant is entitled to get Rs.26,212/- against the purchase of spare parts.
Now question is whether rate of towing charge given by the surveyor to the tune of Rs.2,500/- can be accepted. The towing charge estimated by the surveyor is a general rate of towing charge when the party cannot prove any towing charge by giving evidence. In this case, the complainant claim Rs.23,000/- as towing charge. Both sides’s admit that the vehicle was towed from Sibsagar town to the M/s India Automobile Works, Lakhra, Guwahati by the complainant by hiring a crane and she shown that she paid Rs.23,000/- as crane charge(towing charge). We have found that the charge given by the complainant to the crane owner as towing charge is not unreasonable one having the vehicle was towed for about 427 k.m.. So, the complainant is entitled to get Rs.23,000/- against towing charge. In total , the complainant is entitled to Rs.1,64,212/- as total cost of repairing her vehicle including cost of spare parts and the towing charge.
The complainant is also, as per our opinion, entitled to atleast Rs.10,000/- as compensation causing harassment to her and also Rs.10,000/- as a cost of the proceeding.
6) Because of what has been discussed as above, the complaint against the opp.parties is allowed on contest and they are directed to pay Rs.1,64,212/- to the complainant as the cost of repairing of her vehicle after the accident, along with an interest @ 6% per annum from the date of filing this complaint (27.5.2011) till full satisfaction of the award and also to pay her Rs.10,000/- as compensation for causing harassment to her and also Rs.10,000/- as a cost of the proceeding, to- which both the opp.parties are jointly and severally liable. They are also directed to pay the said amounts to the complainant within two months, and in default, other two amounts will also carry interest at the same rate.
Given under our hand and seal of the District Forum, on this the 28th day of Feb, 2017.
(Md.S.Hussain)
President
(Mrs. Archana Deka Lahkar)
Member
