Additional Bench STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PUNJAB, CHANDIGARH.

Date of institution : 10.06.2022 Reserved on : 22.11.2024 Date of Decision : 10.12.2024 Care Health Insurance Ltd. having its Registered Office at 5^th Floor, 19, Chawla House, New Place, New Delhi 110019 through its Branch Manager.

(incorporated vide Certificate dated 19.08.2020)

(Earlier known as Religare Health Insurance Company Limited)

….Appellant/Opposite Party No.1 Versus

1. Adarsh Nayyar S/o Sh. Ramesh Nayyar R/o 26/5, Jagat Jyoti Complex, Rani Ka Bagh, Amritsar. .…Respondent No.1/Complainant

2. Punjab National Bank through its Chairman/Managing Director/Principal Officer Service, having its Branch Office at Rani Ka Bagh, Amritsar.

.…Respondent No.2/OP No.2 First Appeal under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 against the order dated 11.04.2022 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Amritsar.

Quorum:-

Mrs. Kiran Sibal, Presiding Member Mr. Vishav Kant Garg, Member

1) Whether Reporters of the Newspapers may be allowed to see the Judgment? Yes/No

2) To be referred to the Reporters or not? Yes/No 3) Whether judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes/No Present:-

For the appellant : Ms. Niharika Goel, proxy for Sh. P.M. Goyal, Advocate For respondent No.1 : Sh. CVS Papta, Advocate For respondent No.2 : Ex-parte VISHAV KANT GARG, MEMBER :

Appellant/OP No.1 i.e. Care Health Ins. Co. Ltd., has filed the present Appeal challenging the impugned order dated 11.04.2022 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Amritsar (in short, “the District Commission”), whereby the Complaint filed by the Respondent/Complainant was allowed.

2. It would be apposite to mention here that hereinafter the parties will be referred, as were arrayed before the District Commission.

3. Briefly, the facts of the case as made out by the Respondent/Complainant in the Complaint filed before the District Commission are that she had purchased the Mediclaim Insurance Policy since long by hiring the services of OP No.2-PNB. She had purchased the last policy from New India Assurance Co. Ltd., valid for the period 31.03.2019 to 30.03.2020. As on 30.03.2020, due to Covid-19 impact lockdown had been imposed in the Country, therefore, when the Complainant approached the officials of OP No.2 for the renewal of the Mediclaim Insurance Policy, they told her to come after lockdown relaxations. OP No.2 received the renewal premium of Rs.15,391/- and sent the same to OP No.1 on 28.04.2020. Inspite of receiving the said renewal premium by OP No.1, they failed to issue the Insurance Policy. Whereas OP No.1 had sent her Welcome Messages on her mobile. Later on 04.07.2020, OP No.1 had informed the Complainant about the cancellation of her request i.e. after expiry of 65 days from the date of receiving the premium. The Complainant sent communication to the OP No.1 asking them to inform the reason for cancellation of the policy to which OP No.1 replied that there was cancellation request, upon which the policy had been cancelled. The Complainant had never sent any such request to the OP No.1. The said act of the OP No.1 unilaterally refusing to issue the Mediclaim Policy to her after receiving the premium is against the principles of natural justice.

4. Stating the act of the opposite parties to be a case of ‘deficiency in service’ and ‘unfair trade practice’, it was prayed in the Complaint that the OP No.1 be directed to issue the Insurance Policy as applied by the Complainant and also to pay compensation of Rs.4,50,000/-

for suffering harassment and mental agony at the hands of OP No.1.

5. Upon issuance of notice in the Complaint, the Appellants/OP No.1 has appeared and filed its written statement stating therein that with the intention to port his current Group PNB Policy of New India Assurance Company, the Complainant has approached the office of OP No.1 for the same. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, Branch Office of OP No.1 was not properly f