( 1. ) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution by the widow of the insurer challenging the order of the Insurance Company directing the petitioner to produce a succession certificate for paying the amount due under the policy taken out by her late husband for personal accident and sickness insurance.

( 2. ) THE petitioner is the widow of late Santosh Kumar Jain. According to the petitioner he has taken out a personal accident and sickness insurance policy under the proposal form on 27-9-1980 for a sum of rs. 2,50,000 mentioning the petitioner as a nominee. Her husband met with a car accident on 9-8-1980 between Sehore and Ashta and died. The petitioner lodged a claim with the respondent No. 1 Insurance Company but the Company avoided to make payment and ultimately by letter dated 2-11-1982 directed the petitioner to produce a succession certificate for paying the amount due under the policy. According to her, the insurance company was bound to make the payment to her, as she being the nominee under the policy. For this purpose she relies on the proposal form dated 27-9-1980, which was submitted by her late husband for the policy which was issued for the period 27-7-1980 to 26-7-1981. According to the petitioner, the insurance company being a wholly Government subsidised company it is a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution and a writ can be issued. The respondent No. 1 in its return admitted that its entire share capital is subscribed by the Central Government but it is a distinct and separate entity from the Government and even assuming that it is state still the present dispute arises out of a contractual obligation under the policy in question and a writ is not the proper remedy for enforcing that contractual obligation. On merit, it is denied that the petitioners late husband submitted a proposal form on 27-9-1980. According to it, her late husband submitted a proposal form under the prescribed form on 12-7-1979 in which no nominee was mentioned; this proposal form was accepted and insurance policy was issued. On expiry of the policy, it was renewed on payment of premium for the period 27-7-1980 to 26-7-1981 bearing No. 1533/302/00/719/41 (01)/80/00006, this policy does not have a nominee; as such the petitioner can only be paid the amount due under the policy on production of a succession certificate; besides, in order to avoid loss of interest on the sum assured, the insurance company had deposited the amount of Rs. 2,50,000 in fixed deposit in a Bank of the petitioners choice and the provisions regarding payment to the nominee under the Insurance Act of 1938 is applicable to the life policies and cannot apply to a personal accident and sickness policy.

( 3. ) IT is not disputed that the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972, the general insurance business has been taken over by the government on the appointed day and the shares in the insurance companies stood transferred to and vested in the Central Government. The government was empowered to constitute a General Insurance Corporation of India for carrying out the general insurance business. The respondent no. 1 is subsidiary of the General Insurance Corporation of India, respondent No. 2. Section 35 of the Act provides that subject to such exception, restrictions and limitations, if any, as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf, the Insurance Act shall apply to or in relation to the Corporation and every acquiring company, as if the Corporation or the acquiring company, as the case may be, were an insurer carrying on general insurance business within the meaning of that Act. However, the Central Government by notification published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary dated 29-12-1972 specified certain sections of the insurance Act as not being applicable to the General Insurance Corporation of India. Among the exceptions is section 39 of the Insurance Act which is excluded i