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NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, NEW DELHI
R.K. Agrawal, President, Dr. S.M. Kantikar, Member and Binoy Kumar, Member
Manjeet Electronics Pvt. Ltd. —Complainant
versus
New India Assurance Co. Ltd. —Opp. Party
Consumer Case No.863 of 2016
Decided on 15.2.2022
For the Complainant:Mr. Kartikeya Singh and Mr. Raktim Gogoi, Advocates
For the Opp. Party:Mr. K.K. Bhat, Advocate with Mr. Ravi K. Singhal, Surveyor and Ms. Geetika Aggarwal, Surveyor
Headnote:
(A) Consumer Protection Act, 1986 – S. 21(a)(i) – [Consumer Protection Act, 2019 – S.58(1)(a)(i)] – Services – Insurance – Fire Accident – ‘short-circuit in electricity’ – Complaint filed seeking direction to Opposite Party / Insurance Company to pay claim of Rs. 1,67,76,303.51 on account of loss due to fire caused by ‘short-circuit in electricity’ – Whether the Surveyor has made deductions in a judicious manner – Whether Opposite Party has settled the Claim in a Fair and Judicious manner – Surveyor made another revised assessment in its letter dated 26.9.2015 reducing the claim to Rs.26,29,480/-. A careful examination of this letter would reveal that deductions have been again carried out on account of non-maintenance of proper Accounts/Records which has been put at Rs.9,22,625/- and also Policy Clause 5% which has been put at Rs.1,38,394/- apart from reducing the amount of loss under FFF – On perusal of original report of the Surveyor dated 18.9.2015, there was already a deduction made on account of Policy Clause 5% @ Rs.1,94,063/-. In the final report of the Surveyor dated 26.9.2015, once again made deduction under Policy Clause 5%, amounting to Rs.1,38,394/- – Therefore, this is double deduction – Similarly, in the original report, deductions under Annexures H, I and J were basically made on account of lack of proper documentation – Also, in the final report of the Surveyor, once again deduction has been made on account of proper account amounting to Rs.9,22,625/-. This again in our opinion is a double deduction – The fact that such deductions have been made, has weakened the case of the Opposite Party/Insurance Company in settling the claim of the Complainant in a fair and judicious manner. [Para 23].
(B) Consumer Protection Act, 1986 – S. 21(a)(i) – [Consumer Protection Act, 2019 – S.58(1)(a)(i)] – Services – Insurance – Fire Accident – Delay in settlement of Claim by Insurance Company – Whether Complainant is justified in claiming a reasonable compensation – More than 6 years have passed from the receipt of the report by the Insurance Company in settling the claim of the Complainant. The Complainant has justifiably asked for the claim on account of loss suffered by the Company in an accidental fire which is covered under the Insurance Policy that the Complainant had – Hence for the delay in settling his claim, he can also expect a reasonable compensation – Therefore, the net loss as arrived at in the proceeding para No.20 is the rightful claim of the Complainant which should be honoured by the Opposite Party – On facts, a delay compensation of 5% on this amount, after three months from the date of original surveyor report till realization would be meeting the end of justice – Opposite Party is directed to pay a sum of Rs.93,47,082/- alongwith a delay compensation @ 5% till realization from three months of the original Surveyor’s report till realization within a period of two months. Any delay beyond this, would entail an interest rate of 9%. [Paras 24, 25].
Result: Compliant allowed.
ORDER
Binoy Kumar, Member.—The present Consumer Complaint has been filed by the Complainant-Manjeet Electronics Private Limited under section 21(a)(i) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) against The New Indian Assurance Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Opposite Party) with prayer to direct the Opposite Party to pay claim of Rs. 1,67,76,303.51 on account of loss due to fire caused by ‘short-circuit in electricity’ in its shop in D1, D2, Civil lines, Rudrapur, Uttrakhand.
2. Brief facts of the case are that the Complainant – Company runs a business of wholesale, distribution and retail of all the leading electronic brands including Sony, Samsung, IFB, etc. The Complainant in order to safeguard itself against any loss by way of fire, etc., took Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy vide Policy No. 34020011130100000630 for a sum of Rs. 3,00,00,000 (Rs. Three Crores Only) on 29.03.2014. The abovementioned policy was further categorized into two parts namely Rs. 25,00,000/- (Twenty Five Lakhs Only) for furniture, Fittings, Fixtures (for short FFF) and other whereas, Rs. 2,75,00,000/- (Two Crore Seventy Five Lakhs Only) was for stocks of the Complainant Company.
3. The Complainant stated that a fire incident broke out on 17.11.2014 in its shop premise. The real cause ascertained by the Police in their FIR dated 18.11.2014 and investigation, by Fire and safety Department, and Surveyor (Ravi K. Singhal Associates Insurance Surveyor & Loss Assessor Private Limited) as appointed by the Insurer in the present case as ‘short-circuit in electricity’. The Complainant stated that the Surveyor ascertained loss in fire mishap amounting to Rs.1,67,76,303.51. However, in its final report dated 18.09.2015, it has approved a meager sum of only Rs.36,87,203/- which has been further reduced by a revised assessment vide report dated 26.09.2015 wherein the net assessment of loss was assessed by the Surveyor as Rs.26,29,480/-.
4. The Complainant further stated that the Surveyor has made deductions under various heads including the “Annexure H”, “Annexure I” and Annexure J” and deductions for not maintaining the proper books of accounts and records alongwith deductions of 5% which has been made under the sub-head of ‘policy clause 5%’. These deductions are legally not permissible in the fact and circumstances of the present case. It was further stated that gross loss estimated further by the Surveyor is Rs. 1,38,86,266.
5. The Complainant stated that it intimated about the loss to the Opposite Party/Insurance Company vide e-mail dated 18.11.2014. It submitted a total claim of Rs. 1,74,94,953.51 (One Crore Seventy Four Lakhs Ninety Four Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Three and Fifty One Paise only) to the Opposite Party. The Claim of stock was Rs. 1,67,76,303.51(One Crore Sixty Seven Lakhs Seventy Six Thousand Three Hundred and Three and Fifty One Paise only) whereas the claim for damages caused to Furniture, Fixtures, Fittings and other things was Rs. 9,14,130/-(Nine Lakhs Fourteen Thousand One Hundred and Thirty Only). It was further stated that the claim was accompanied by all relevant documents including three year Balance Sheets, Vat Returns, Income Tax Return, Insurance Policies, Vat Audit & Photocopy of Purchase Invoices, Stock sheet, etc.
6. The Complainant stated that on 17.02.2015 the Surveyor issued email requesting the Complainant Company to expeditiously complete all pending documents and submit the same so that the claim may be proceeded further. The Complainant vide email dated 22.02.2015 stated that all documents were already submitted in duplicate. The Surveyor again vide email dated 13.05.2015 claimed that there were anomalies in the documents submitted by the Complainant Company and requested furnishing of more documents such as volumetric analysis for detail of loss, form IV of VAT Return for the financial year 2013-14, salvage value of damaged material, etc. The Complainant Compa
