STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION KERALA FIRST APPEAL NO. SC/32/A/725/2024 null THE BRANCH MANAGER ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO LTD PRESENT ADDRESS - PADMASREE NEAR KSRTC BUS STAND NEYYATTINKARA 695121 ,KERALA.

.......Appellant(s)

Versus NAGAPPAN NAIR P PRESENT ADDRESS - ESWARA VILASAM BUNGLOW KARUMANOOR PALUKAL ALAMPARA P O VILAVACODU TALUK KANYAKUMARI ,KERALA.

.......Respondent(s)

BEFORE:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SRI.B.SUDHEENDRA KUMAR , PRESIDENT FOR THE APPELLANT:

THE BRANCH MANAGER ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO LTD, SAJI ISSAC K J (Advocate)

FOR THE RESPONDENT:

NAGAPPAN NAIR P, In-Person DATED: INVALID DATETIME

ORDER

KERALA STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION VAZHUTHACAUD, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM APPEAL No. 725/2024 JUDGEMENT DATED : 05.03.2025 (Against the order in C.C.No.204/2020 on the file of DCDRC, Thiruvananthapuram)

PRESENT:

HON’BLE JUSTICE SRI. B. SUDHEENDRA : PRESIDENT KUMAR SRI. AJITH KUMAR D. : JUDICIAL MEMBER SRI. K.R. RADHAKRISHNAN : MEMBER APPELLANTS:

1.

The Branch Manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., Padmasree, Near KSRTC Bus Stand, Neyyattinkara - 695 121

2.

The Regional Manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., Metro Palace, North Railway Station Road, Ernakulam North, Ernakulam - 682 018

3.

The General Manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., Registered Head Office, A 25/27, Asafali Road, New Delhi - 110 002 (by Adv. Saji Issac K.J.)

Vs.

RESPONDENT:

Nagappan Nair P., S/o Parameswaran Pillai, Eswara Vilasom Bunglow, Karumanoor, Palukal, Alampara P.O., Vilavucodu Taluk, Kanyakumari (by Party in person)

JUDGEMENT

HON’BLE JUSTICE SRI. B. SUDHEENDRA KUMAR : PRESIDENT The appellants are the opposite parties in C.C. No.204/2020 on the files of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Thiruvananthapuram (for short, ‘the District Commission’).

2. The complainant is the owner of a lorry bearing registration No. TN 75 AJ 0390. The said lorry was having an insurance coverage issued by the opposite parties for the period from 07.11.2019 to 06.11.2020. The said vehicle met with an accident on 23.06.2020 at about 04.00 a.m. and as a consequence, the said vehicle sustained heavy damage. The matter was informed to the Police Station, Vatakara and the Sub Inspector came to the spot and made an entry in the GD register. Thereafter, st the complainant immediately informed the matter to the 1 opposite party, who in turn st deputed Mr. Babu, the authorised surveyor of the 1 opposite party to conduct a survey on the spot. The surveyor visited the spot and inspected the vehicle. The surveyor submitted a report with insufficient and inadequate estimate without assessing the replacement of the broken chassis and other parts. The complainant had to tow the vehicle from the accident spot to the Popular Mega Motors India Pvt. Ltd., Trivandrum by spending Rs.40,000/-(Rupees Forty Thousand Only).

3. The authorised service center inspected the vehicle and submitted an estimate for Rs.8,97,798/-(Rupees Eight Lakh Ninety Seven Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Eight Only) for repair as well as replacement of the damaged parts. The st said estimate prepared by the authorised service center was given to the 1 opposite party on 30.06.2020 along with the original General Diary entry of the police station and the other relevant documents. Thereafter, the complainant issued a lawyer notice st on 06.07.2020 to the 1 opposite party to settle the claim as per the estimate provided st by the authorised repairer. After a long period, the 1 opposite party sent a letter to the complainant on 04.09.2020 stating that due to Covid-19 outbreak, the functions of st the office were disrupted. The 1 opposite party also appointed a surveyor to estimate the vehicle and the surveyor had estimated the vehicle at Rs.2,59,000/-(Rupees Two Lakh Fifty Nine Thousand only). The service manual of Tata Motors Company in page Nos.22 and 23 in paragraph 4 specifically states thus:- “do not weld or drill holes in chassis frame or remove any rivet. This will weaken the chassis frame”. It was onl