The central legal point established in the judgment is that an insurer cannot avoid a policy of insurance on mere inaccuracy of a statement after two years, as per Sec. 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938. The burden of proving a case for repudiation lies with the insurer, and the Courts must ensure a fair and honorable dealing between the parties.

1. The appellant-plaintiff filed a suit for recovery of amount of insurance claim for death of Joginder Singh.

2. Case of the plaintiff is that plaintiffs deceased husband Joginder Singh was insured with the Life Insurance Corporation on 19-3-1974 under Policy No. 22576229, Ex. P.1 for Rs. 50,000/-. The plaintiff was the nominee. Joginder Singh died on 13-7-1976. He had paid stipulated instalments of premium regularly. The plaintiff filed a claim with the LIC but the same was not accepted.

3. The Insurance Company contested the suit on the ground that the deceased had not disclosed his state of health in answers given to specific questions at the time of insurance and the deceased died by committing suicide, by shooting himself. He was tired of his life on account of some disease which was not disclosed to the Insurance Company. Fraudulent and deliberate suppression of material facts rendered the contract of insurance void and the Corporation, therefore, repudiated the same.

4. The trial Court dismissed the suit upholding the plea of the Insurance Company that the contract of insurance was validly repudiated on account of suppression of material facts by deceased Joginder Singh at the time of taking the insurance policy. Finding of the trial Court has been affirmed in appeal. Hence, this second appeal.

5. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the appeal involved substantial question of law as to interpretation of Sec. 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938 which debarred the Insurance Company from call- in question the policy of insurance after two years on the ground of inaccurate or false statement in any document unless the insurer shows that such a statement was on material matter or suppressed facts fraudulently knowing the same to be false. It was submitted that since the Courts - below have recorded the finding of validity of repudiation of policy without proper interpretation of Sec. 45, the same was vitiated.

6. Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that finding recorded by the Courts-below was a pure finding of fact and did not call for interference in second appeal.

7. I have considered the rival submissions and perused the record of the case.

8. In am of the view that substantial questions of law do arise for consideration in this appeal which can be formulated as under :-

(i) Whether the insurer could avoid the policy of insurance on the plea that truth of every statement was the basis of contract without showing that the questions were properly explained to the insured ? (ii) Whether omission to mention doing of ECG amounted to fraudulent suppression of a material fact? (iii) Whether the insurer discharged the burden of proving that a case under second part of Sec. 45 of the Act for repudiating the policy was made out ? (iv) Whether findings of the Courts-below are vitiated by erroneous approach to the law ? (v) What relief the appellant is entitled to ?

9 Before proceeding to deal with the above questions, it is necessary to have a look at the findings of the Courts-below. Relevant discussion of the trial Court in this regard is in paras 8 to 15. Reference has been made to letter of repudiation sent by the insurer Ex. DW-11/2 dated 5-4-1978. The said letter refers to column Nos. 4 and 6 of the proposal for assurance dated 19-3-1974 and states that answers to the questions were false as the deceased had suffered from mental depression before submitting a proposal which was not disclosed. The said columns reproduced in the letter dated 5-4-1978 are as under :-

Questions Answers 4(a) What has been your usual state of health ? Good (d) Have you consulted a medical practitioner within the last five years. If so, give details. No

6 Have you evern suffered from any of the following ailments ? (a) Giddiness, fits, neurasthenia, neuralgia, paralysis, insanity, nervous break down or any other disease of the brain or the nervous system ? No (c) Fainting attacks, pain in chest, breathlessness, palpitation