Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu

CC/121/2017

LEKH RAJ DEVKI NANDAN - Complainant(s)

Versus

United India Insurance - Opp.Party(s)

KESHAV THAKUR

03 Sep 2018

ORDER

DISTRICT    CONSUMER     DISPUTES   REDRESSAL  FORUM, JAMMU

                (Constituted under J&K Consumer Protection Act,1987)

                                                         

 Case File  No                   76/DFJ         

 Date of  Institution   :     02-06-2015

 Date of Decision      :       18-08-2018

 

M/S Lekh Raj Devki Nandan Aggarwal,

5-D Ware House Pin-180001,

Jammu (Tawi)Jammu & Kashmir State,

Through Prop.Gulshan Aggarwal.

                                                                                                                                Complainant

               V/S

1.United India Insurance Company Ltd.

Head Office 24,White Toad,Chennai.

2. United India Insurance Company Ltd.

B/O G.T.Road Gangyal Pin-180010

Jammu (Tawi) Jammu & Kashmir State.

                                                                                                                                Opposite parties

CORAM

                  Khalil Choudhary              (Distt.& Sessions Judge)     President

                  Ms.Vijay Angral                                                              Member

                  Mr.Ghulam Sarwar Chauhan                                       Member

 

In the matter of: Complaint under section 10 of J&K Consumer

                              Protection Act 1987.

 

Mr.Keshav Thakur,Advocate for complainant, present.

Mr.Sanjay K.Dhar,Advocate for OPs,present.

   

                                                                    ORDER.

                     Facts relevant for the disposal of complaint on hand are that complainant is an accountant and is in part time business for day to day earnings and the OPS are insurance companies of vehicles and providing services in case of theft/loss of vehicle and reimburse the cost as per insured amount of the vehicle. That the complainant at the time of purchase of Wagon R bearing registration No.JK02M-4858 took insurance policy from OP2 by paying the premium for the full vehicle which was accordingly insured by OP2 and thereafter he was continuously paying the premium for the said vehicle, which amount was reduced as per the depreciation value of the vehicle. That on,24-04-2015 complainant informed OP2 that his vehicle registration certificate (RC)was expiring on,25-04-2016 and inquired whether OP2 could further accept premium of said vehicle inspite of the fact that registration certificate(RC)was expired on,25-04-2015.Allegation of complainant is that on,25-04-2015,OP2 informed him that the expiry date of registration certificate (RC)of the said vehicle has nothing to do with the present insurance policy as the cost of vehicle is cover for the good in case of theft or its loss and thereafter agreed to renew insurance policy of the vehicle in question by paying Rs.4,552/-to OP2 which was accepted by them. That on,26-04-2015 policy No.1118013115P101014595 valid for the period 26-04-2015 to 25-04-2016 was issued to complainant (copy of insurance policy is annexed as Annexure-A).Complainant further submitted that on,04-10-2015 complainant alongwith his friend,namely,Neeraj  Vaid went to Neerajs house for dinner and night stay at his house,however,next day morning they found that the vehicle was missing from the parking place where it was parked in the previous day.That on,12-10-2015 complainant alongwith his friend Neeraj Vaid S/O Pawan Vaid R/O( 279 Pacci Dacci,Jain Bazar,Jammu lodged an FIR NO.176/15 dated 12-10-2015 Police Station Pacca Danga which was accordingly registered.(Translated copy of brief facts of the case are annexed as Annexure-B) and also informed OP about the theft of said vehicle and handed over copy of FIR and requested for the claim of Insurance amount of his case from OP2 which was calculated by OPs as Rs.80,000/-.Complainant further submitted that on,30-04-2016 police produced a report and charge sheet with charge sheet No.27/2016 in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu (Translated copy of FIR report given by CJM Court is annexed as Annexure-C).That on,30-09-2016 complainant received a letter of final reminder from OP2 with Ref.CLAIMS/GANGYAL/303/2016 ,in which it has been observed by OP2 that his car’s RC is not valid on the date of loss, as the RC is valid only upto 25-04-2015 and date of loss is 04-10-2015 and OP2 asked him to provide them a  valid RC.That thereafter complainant requested RTO office for the renewal of Registration Certificate (RC)of the vehicle, but the same was refused with the reason of inspection of the car, which had already been stolen and was not in the possession of complainant. That on,17-11-2016 another letter was received by the complainant from OP1 wherein complainant was informed that his claim has been rejected due to non production of a valid RC(copy of letter is annexed as Annexure-E).That on,27-01-2017 complainant dispatched a letter for the clarification regarding his claim to the grievance cell of OPs in Chandigarh,but no reply was received till date(AnnexureC).That the Ops were fully aware that his vehicle Wagon R bearing registration No.JK02M-4858 whose registration certificate(RC)was expiring on 25-04-2015 which was specially pointed out to OP2 and only after thorough discussion and securitization of documents, accepted the renewal of policy  also by stating that the registration certificate(RC )has nothing to do with the policy. That the act of Ops in not honouring their promise tentamount to deficiency in service on the part of OPs,hence the present complaint. In the final analysis, complainant prays for compensation of Rs.5,00,000/-.

                 On the other hand,OPs filed written version and resisted the complaint on the ground that the complaint is not maintainable and deserves outright dismissal in view of the fact that the claim of complainant under Motor Insurance Policy in good faith and bonafidely has been closed as No Claim by OP after thorough investigation and proper application of kind in accordance with the terms conditions of the contract of insurance and the law on the ground that the insured vehicle bearing registration No9.JK02M-4858 (Wagon-R)was being plied and used without valid registration certificate as on the date of loss. It is to submit here that the registration certificate pertaining to said vehicle had expired on,25-04-2015 and thereafter same was not revalidated or renewed and as on date of loss vehicle in question was being used in absence of valid R/C thus use of vehicle was in clear violation of statutory requirement of registration as envisaged under section 39 of the M.V.Act,1988.It can safely be concluded that use of vehicle in violation of law amounts to fundamental breach of the policy as committed by the owner of subject vehicle and accordingly he is not entitled to any indemnification  and such violation takes him out of the protection of insurance policy. That the present complaint against the answering OP is also not maintainable on the score that complainant has given intimation of loss to OP on,23-11-2015 i.e.at a very belated stage when the alleged theft had taken place on,04-10-2015 and also the report with police concerned has been lodged after a period of eight days, thereby minimizing the chances of immediate investigation and recovery of stolen vehicle. The late intimation and delay in lodging the report with police is fatal of recovery of the vehicle. It is submitted that as per Condition No.1 of the contract of insurance, it was mandatory for the complainant to give a notice in writing to the OP immediately upon the occurrence of any loss or damage and in the event of any claim, but the complainant instead of due observance and fulfillment of terms conditions, has filed the present complaint on surmises and conjectures, as such, the respondents are not liable to indemnify the complainant in respect to the alleged theft loss of the subject vehicle. The condition No.1 of the policy reads as under:

       1. Notice shall be given in writing to the Company immediately upon the occurrence of any accidental or loss or damage and in the event of any claim and thereafter the insured shall give all such information and assistance as the Company shall requir

                Complainant adduced evidence by way of duly sworn evidence affidavit and rejoinder. Complainant has placed on record copy of certificate of insurance, copy of policy schedule, Translated copy of facts of case, copy of final report and copies of communications exchanged between the parties collectively.

           On the other hand,OPs adduced evidence by way of duly sworn evidence affidavit of Suresh Gupta,Divisional Manager United India Insurance Company Ltd.

                     We have perused case file and heard L/Cs appearing for the parties at length.

                     Brief facts of the case are that complainant is an accountant and is in part time business for day to day earnings and the OPS are insurance companies of vehicles and providing services in case of theft/loss of vehicle and reimburse the cost as per insured amount of the vehicle. That the complainant at the time of purchase of Wagon R bearing registration No.JK02M-4858 took insurance policy from OP2 by paying the premium for the full vehicle which was accordingly insured by OP2 and thereafter he was continuously paying the premium for the said vehicle, which amount was reduced as per the depreciation value of the vehicle. That on,24-04-2015 complainant informed OP2 that his vehicle registration certificate (RC)was expiring on,25-04-2016 and inquired whether OP2 could further accept premium of said vehicle inspite of the fact that registration certificate(RC)was expired on,25-04-2015.Allegation of complainant is that on,25-04-2015,OP2 informed him that the expiry date of registration certificate (RC)of the said vehicle has nothing to do with the present insurance policy as the cost of vehicle is cover for the good in case of theft or its loss and thereafter agreed to renew insurance policy of the vehicle in question by paying Rs.4,552/-to OP2 which was accepted by them. That on,26-04-2015 policy No.1118013115P101014595 valid for the period 26-04-2015 to 25-04-2016 was issued to complainant. Complainant further submitted that on,04-10-2015 complainant alongwith his friend,namely,Neeraj  Vaid went to Neerajs house for dinner and night stay at his house,however,next day morning they found that the vehicle was missing from the parking place where it was parked in the previous day. That on,12-10-2015 complainant alongwith his friend Neeraj Vaid S/O Pawan Vaid R/O( 279 Pacci Dacci,Jain Bazar,Jammu lodged an FIR NO.176/15 dated 12-10-2015 Police Station Pacca Danga which was accordingly registered.(Translated copy of brief facts of the case are annexed as Annexure-B) and also informed OP about the theft of said vehicle and handed over copy of FIR and requested for the claim of Insurance amount of his case from OP2 which was calculated by OPs as Rs.80,000/-Complainant further submitted that on,30-04-2016 police produced a report and charge sheet with charge sheet No.27/2016 in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu. That on,30-09-2016 complainant received a letter of final reminder from OP2 with Ref.CLAIMS/GANGYAL/303/2016 ,in which it has been observed by OP2 that his car’s RC is not valid on the date of loss, as the RC is valid only upto 25-04-2015 and date of loss is 04-10-2015 and OP2 asked him to provide them a  valid RC.That thereafter complainant requested RTO office for the renewal of Registration Certificate (RC)of the vehicle, but the same was refused with the reason of inspection of the car, which had already been stolen and was not in the possession of complainant. That on,17-11-2016 another letter was received by the complainant from OP1 wherein complainant was informed that his claim has been rejected due to non production of a valid RC.That on,27-01-2017 complainant dispatched a letter for the clarification regarding his claim to the grievance cell of OPs in Chandigarh,but no reply was received till date. That the Ops were fully aware that his vehicle Wagon R bearing registration No.JK02M-4858 whose registration certificate(RC)was expiring on 25-04-2015 which was specially pointed out to OP2 and only after thorough discussion and securitization of documents, accepted the renewal of policy  also by stating that the registration certificate(RC )has nothing to do with the policy.

                             On the other hand defence of OPs is that the claim of complainant under Motor Insurance Policy in good faith and bonafidely has been closed as No Claim by OP after thorough investigation and proper application of kind in accordance with the terms conditions of the contract of insurance and the law on the ground that the insured vehicle bearing registration No9.JK02M-4858 (Wagon-R)was being plied and used without valid registration certificate as on the date of loss. It is to submit here that the registration certificate pertaining to said vehicle had expired on,25-04-2015 and thereafter same was not revalidated or renewed and as on date of loss vehicle in question was being used in absence of valid R/C thus use of vehicle was in clear violation of statutory requirement of registration as envisaged under section 39 of the M.V.Act,1988.It can safely be concluded that use of vehicle in violation of law amounts to fundamental breach of the policy as committed by the owner of subject vehicle and accordingly he is not entitled to any indemnification  and such violation takes him out of the protection of insurance policy.

                                Before heading further, it is to be noted that since parties have lead evidence in the shape of evidence affidavits, which are much or less reproduction of contents of their respective pleadings,therefore,we do not feel it necessary to represent the same again and if need arises, same would be referred hereinafter at appropriate stage.

                           At the outset, we would like to place on record that in so far as insurance of vehicle in question and its theft during currency of insurance, same are not in dispute. There is also no dispute regarding duty to inform the insurer immediately in the event of incident.

                           From the perusal of record it is evident that RC of the vehicle has already expired and complainant has not got the same revalidated thus there was no RC valid as on date of loss. It is settled law that plying a vehicle without valid RC is violation of Motor Vehicles Act and breach of policy conditions,therefore,Insurance Company cannot be saddled with the liability,however,in the given facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it proper to give a direction to the complainant to get the RC of the said vehicle transferred validly in favour of the OP Insurance Company and also execute a letter of subrogation in favour of the OP Insurance Company and thereafter the OP Insurance Company would settle the claim of complainant within a period of two months as per terms and conditions of the policy .

                      After going through the whole case with the evidence on record what reveals here is the case of complainant is genuinely filed with speaking reasons and merit as being consumer as per the purport of section 2(d) of Consumer Protection Act and Ops are the service providers having failed in their statutory duty to provide adequate and effective services. The purport of legislation is well defined and statutorily takes care of consumer rights and cannot legally afford to a situation like the one confronted herewith in a manner where they are deprived of their rights as of consumer. The consumers have to come forth and seek for redressal of their grievance. The case of the complainant is also genuinely filed for  seeking determination of his right by this Forum.

                          Accordingly, the best and befitting course which the Forum feels as adequate step to redress the grievance of complainant to give a direction to  complainant to get the RC of the said vehicle transferred validly in favour of OP Insurance Company and also execute a letter of subrogation in favour of OP Insurance Company and thereafter,OP Insurance Company shall settle the claim of complainant within a period of two months as per terms and conditions of the policy. Copy of this order be provided to both the parties as per requirement of the Act. The complaint is accordingly disposed of and file be consigned to records after its due compilation.

Order per President                                            (Khalil Choudhary)                               

Announced                                                           (Distt.& Sessions Judge)

18-08-2018                                                                    President

                                                                              District Consumer Forum

                                                                                      Jammu.

Agreed by                                                          

                                                                                      

Ms.Vijay Angral          

  Member                                                                                               

 

Mr.Ghulam Sarwar Chauhan

Member