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| Insurance Company challenges claim awarded to migrant family | | DB declines to interfere with the award of compensation | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 02- In an appeal filed by National Insurance Company against the compensation award passed by the State Consumer Commission, the Division Bench of J&K High Court, comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Sunil Hali, declined to interfere with the judgment and award of the Commission as it not found any reason to interfere.
The approved for reporting judgment was passed in a LPA filed by National Insurance Company against the award of compensation to the tune of Rs 8 lakhs along with interest @ 8% from the January 28, 1991.
After hearing Advocate CS Gupta appearing for the National Insurance Company and Advocate Anil Sethi for the respondent/claimants Pushkar Nath Pandita and sons, the DB observed that the counsel for the appellant contended that there is no acceptable evidence of the incident resulting into loss. On the other hand counsel for the claimants drew the attention to the oral testimony of Mohammed Amin Bhat, one of the witnesses, who appeared in support of the complainant before the Tribunal. The manner in which he deposed in examination-in-chief by filling an affidavit suggests that he was a witness to the incident. The cross-examination of the witness also does not suggest that the Insurance Company brought on record matters on which the credibility of the witnesses diminish. In the circumstances, the said witness could not be said to be impermissible and with these observations the DB dismissed the appeal of the Insurance Company.
According to the claimant, before his migration from Anantnag to Jammu, he was running business in the name & style M/S Pushkar Nath Pandita & Sons in Lal Chowk Anantnag Town, hub of the commercial activities. During the end of the year 1989 minorities and secular minded persons from the majority community were forced to leave their homes. The insurance policy came into currency on November 26, 1990 and had to expire on November 25, 1991. During it currency on January 30, 1991, the claimant came to know that on January 28, 1991, his shop had been looted by some miscreants. On February 2, 1991 he lodged a written complaint of the incident with the DIG Police Jammu and copy sent by registered post to concerned quarter including SSP and SHO Anantnag and filed a claim with the insurance company which was denied. Ultimately he filed the claim before the State Consumer Commission which after allowing the claim observed that the complainant became a migrant under forced circumstances in order to save his life as well as the lives and honour of his family members. The insurance policy covered the risk of Rs 8 lakhs was enforced at the time when the alleged loss was caused in a “malicious manner” by anti-national riotous mob and it was a case of total loss of insured stock of trade and the insurance committing a gross negligence for not getting the loss assessed from a recognized surveyor as per the admission of the insurance witness RK Wali, the insurer received the information in the month of February 1991. With these observations the Commission directed the Insurance Company to reimburse the loss of insured stock valuing Rs 8 lakhs along with interest @ 8% PA from January 28, 1991 till the payment is made. JNF
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