JUDGEMENT

1. The appellant, United India Insurance Co. Ltd., an insurance company, challenges the decision by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (hereinafter ‘the NCDRC’), which by its impugned order dated 16.01.2023 allowed the Consumer Complaint No.160 of 2019 and directed the appellant to release and pay an insurance claim of Rs. 39,09,92,828/-.

2. Facts: The National Highway Authority of India (‘NHAI’), respondent no. 3 herein, awarded a contract for the design, construction and maintenance of a cable-stayed bridge across the river Chambal on NH-76 at Kota, Rajasthan to a joint venture company comprising of respondent no. 1 and respondent no. 2. The value of the project under the contract was Rs. 213,58,76,000/-. The contract provided that the construction work was to be completed within 40 months and the joint venture was thereafter assigned the task of maintaining the said bridge for a period of 6 years, of which, 2 years was the ‘defect-notification period’. NHAI also assigned consultancy services for design, construction and maintenance of the bridge to another joint venture of M/s Louis Berger Group Inc. (USA) and M/s COWI A/S (Denmark).

3. The appellant issu