Judgment :

ALTAMAS KABIR, J.

1. This is a statutory appeal filed under Section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, hereinafter referred to as `the 1986 Act', from an order dated 24th October, 2005, passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, hereinafter referred to as the "National Commission", in O.P. No.60 of 2003. By the said order, the National Commission accepted the claim of the Respondent herein, M/s. Protection Manufacturers Pvt. Ltd., in respect of insurance claim on account of a fire which had broken out in its factory at about 8.45 a.m. on 29th March, 2000, and directed the Appellant Insurance Company to pay Rs.2,26,36,179/-to the Respondent with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from three months after the date of the fire.

In other words, the interest was to be reckoned from 1st July, 2000, till date.

2. Although, the scope of the appeal is to some extent limited, a few facts may be stated for proper appreciation of the case made out by the Respondent/complainant.

3. On 29th March, 2000, at about 8.45 a.m., there was a devastating fire in the factory of the Respondent/complainant. The same was noticed by the factory workers who had assembled in front of the factory premises and were waiting for the factory to open. On being informed, the fire brigade reached the site at about 9.10 a.m. and began their operations immediately. However, the fire was so severe that it continued to flicker for the next three to four days and was completely extinguished only on 4th April, 2000. As the factory premises of the Respondent was covered by Fire Insurance Policy for the period from 19th February, 2000, to 18th February, 2001, against the risk of fire, the Respondent made its claim to the Insurance Company amounting to Rs.2,85,50,000/-on account of damage and loss suffered to the building, plant and machinery, stocks and stock-in-process and the transformer for which the Respondent Company had paid Rs.1,16,636/- as premium. It appears that while the Policy was in force, the insurance coverage was enhanced.

4. On the very same day when the fire broke out, the Insurance Company appointed Mr. A.S. Asthana, Surveyor, to conduct a preliminary spot survey. On 30th March, 2000, Mr. Asthana and the representatives of the Insurance Company took joint stock of burnt motors and air coolers which were being manufactured by the Respondent/complainant. Mr. Asthana submitted his preliminary report on 3rd April, 2000, but did not specify the cause of fire. Thereafter, on 9th April, 2000, one Mr. Bhaskar Joshi was appointed as Joint Surveyor to conduct a final survey along with Mr. Asthana. On 13th April, 2000, a status report was submitted by Mr. Bhaskar Joshi. The Joint Surveyors prepared a draft assessment report and estimated the loss suffered by the Respondent/complainant to be Rs.2,37,09,372.12 paise. The joint assessment report which was submitted on 28th August, 2000, clearly stated that the exact cause of fire was not known, though it could be due to a short circuit.

5. Thereafter, on 30th October, 2000, the Regional Manager of the Insurance Company appointed M/s. J. Basheer & Associates as investigator to conduct an investigation into the cause of fire and to assess the loss. As many as six independent investigation reports were filed by M/s. J. Basheer & Associates on 28th May, 2001, 3rd July, 2001, 27th August, 2002, 4th October, 2002, 7th November, 2002 and 10th December, 2002. According to M/s. J. Basheer & Associates, the net amount of loss suffered by the Respondent Company on account of the fire would be Rs.1,10,57,034/-, which tallies almost exactly with the assessment made by the Insurance Company amounting to Rs.1,10,67,230/-. Interestingly, although in the report submitted by M/s. J. Basheer & Associates it has been mentioned in clause 6 that their appointment was for investigation into (i) cause of fire and (ii) assessment of loss, there is nothing definite in the 67 page repo