IN THE NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSALCOMMISSION, NEW DELHI SECOND APPEAL NO. 14 OF 2026 (A gainst the O rder dated 27.06.2025 in First A ppeal N o.2024/774 of the C hhatisgarh S tate C onsum er D isputes R edressal C om m ission, Pandri, R aipur)

W ITH IA /420/2026, IA /421/2026, IA /422/2026 (E xtension of stay, C ondonation of delay, E xem ption of annexures)

S ta r H ealth A nd A llied Insurance C o. Ltd.

B ranch O ffice: S econd F loor, S hop N o. 06 to 10, Lalganga S hopping M all, S econd F loor, G . E. R oad, R aipur, C hhattisgarh ... P etitioner Versus R anish G upta S /o S hri R am K um ar G upta, R /o H ouse N o. D 12, K ailash N agar, R ajnandgaon, T ehsil & D istrict R ajnandgaon C hhattisgarh ... R espondent BEFORE:

HON’BLE AVM JONNALAGADDA RAJENDRA, AVSM VSM (Retd.), PRESIDING MEMBER HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP KUMAR MENDIRATTA, MEMBER F or the P etitioner : M r. S h ish ir M athur and M s. M uskan T yagi, A d vo ca te s Dated : 20.01.2026

ORDER (ORAL)

1. H eard learned C ounsel fo r the P etitioner.

2.

A s per the report o f the R egistry, there is 158 days delay in filing th is S econd A ppeal. T he P etitioner filed I.A . N o. 421 o f 2026 seeking condonation o f delay, w herein, the P etitioner contended th a t the certified fre e copy o f the im pugned final o rd e r dated 27.06.2025 passed by the S tate C om m ission w as received by th e A p p ellan t on 04.07.2025 and w as im m ediately fo rw a rd e d by the R aipur B ranch O ffice to the Indore Legal T eam fo r scrutiny and necessary action. S ince the im pugned o rd e r and substantial parts o f th e record, including pleadings and orders o f the fora below , w ere in H indi, tim e w as necessarily consum ed in obtaining accurate E nglish tra n sla tio ns fo r proper legal evaluation. A s the appellate a u th o rity a g ain st the im pugned o rde r w as this H o n’ble C om m ission, approval from the C orporate O ffice at C hennai w as required. U pon translation and prelim inary scrutiny, it w as found th a t the im pugned order involved substantial questions o f law concerning interpretation o f m edical records, burden o f p roo f relating to alleged pre-existing diseases, and principles governing repudiation o f insurance claim s, pursuant to w hich a legal opinion w as obtained. T hereafter, the C orporate O ffice at C hennai, a fte r due deliberation w ith the C laim s D epartm ent, issued instructions on 11.11.2025 to proceed w ith filing th e appeal, w hich w ere com m unicated by the Indore Legal T eam to the D elhi Legal T eam on 14.11.2025, and the com plete case file w as dispatched to D elhi on the sam e date. U pon receipt and scrutiny o f records, the present counsel w as appointed on 29.11.2025, the draft appeal w as prepared and shared fo r approval by 09.12.2025, and upon com pletion o f internal approvals and execution of requisite docum ents, the appeal w as filed on 28.12.2025. S ubsequent thereto, fu rth e r tim e w as unavoidably consum ed in collating and verifying the co m p lete set o f m edical records and annexures, including docum ents from B om bay H ospital and M edical R esearch C entre, M um bai, in co m p lia n ce w ith procedural requirem ents o f this H on’ble C om m ission. It is subm itted that th ro ug h ou t this period the A p p e llan t acted w ith due diligence and bona fides, and the delay, if any, occurred solely due to a d m in istrative processing, translation o f ve rn a cu la r records, inter-office m o ve m e n t o f files, and m a n d a to ry approvals. T his C om m ission, vide o rde r dated 06.11.2025, in a n o the r m atter, entertained R P N o. 1122 o f (Kulwant Kaur v. Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. & Anr).

2025 H ow ever, w hen th e A p p e llan t filed R evision P etition a g a in st the im pugned o rde r on 26.12.2025 (D iary N o. 202512260769), objections w e re raised requiring filing o f a second appeal, necessitating conversion o f the R evision P etition into the present S A , and c