STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION UTTARAKHAND DEHRADUN Date of Admission: 14.11.2024 Date of Final Hearing: 02.02.2026 Date of Pronouncement: 10.02.2026 SC/5/A/19/2024 United India Insurance Company Limited through its Branch Manager, Branch Office Tehsil Road, Bageshwar, Post Bageshwar Tehsil and District Bageshwar through its Regional Manager Sh. B.M. Bharti Regional Office, Ratan Complex

899/1, 1^st Floor, Hotel Ratan Palace Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun – 248001 (Uttarakhand)

(Through: Sh. J.K. Jain, Advocate)

…… Appellant Versus Sh. Anand Danu S/o Sh. Hayat Singh R/o Saij, Tehsil Road, Bageshwar Post Bageshwar, Tehsil and District Bageshwar (Through: None) …… Respondent Coram:

Ms. Kumkum Rani, President Mr. B.S. Manral, Member

ORDER

(Per: Ms. Kumkum Rani, President):

This appeal under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has been directed against the impugned judgment and order dated 24.08.2024 passed by learned District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bageshwar (hereinafter to be referred as “The District Commission”) in consumer complaint No. 09 of 2018, styled as Sh. Anand Danu Vs. United India Insurance Company Limited, wherein and whereby the consumer complaint was allowed and the appellant / opposite party (insurance company) was directed to pay compensation of Rs. 12,37,500/- (75% of IDV of Rs. 16,50,000/-) to the respondent / complainant together with interest @08% p.a. from the date of filing of the consumer complaint, i.e., 29.09.2018 till payment, besides to pay Rs. 20,000/- towards mental agony and Rs. 10,000/- towards litigation expenses, within a period of 45 days’ from the date of impugned judgment and order. The District Commission has also imposed penalty of Rs. 50,000/- upon the appellant – insurance company for adopting unfair trade practice and directed the insurance company to deposit the aforesaid amount in the office of the District Commission in government account.

2. The facts giving rise to the present appeal, in brief, are, as such that the respondent / complainant had purchased one JCB / 3D Excavator Loader Machine bearing registration No. UK-02-5581, after availing loan from Kurmanchal Nagar Sahkari Bank Limited, Bageshwar. The said machine / vehicle was insured with the appellant – insurance company for the period from 07.12.2017 to 06.12.2018 at an IDV of Rs. 16,50,000/-. The insured machine / vehicle was engaged in road cutting work at Pothing Shubhakund Motor Road, when on 14.01.2018 at 5:00 p.m., all of a sudden, a boulder from the hill rolled down and hit the insured vehicle, causing damage to the insured vehicle. The F.I.R. of the accident was lodged with the P.S. Kapkot on 15.01.2018. However, due to mistake, in the F.I.R., the name of the driver of the JCB was wrongly mentioned as Sh. Ikrar Ahmed in place of actual driver – Sh. Gopal Singh Dafoti S/o Sh. Jashod Singh, R/o Tunera Malla, Bageshwar, on account of the reason that at the time of accident, the complainant was not available at site and after lodging the F.I.R., when the complainant visited the site, he came to know about full facts and also that at the time of accident, the driver of the insured vehicle / machine was Sh. Gopal Singh S/o Sh. Jashod Singh, therefore, on 20.01.2018, the complainant submitted an affidavit with the P.S. Kapkot for correction of mistake. The matter was investigated by S.I., who found that at the time of accident, the driver of the vehicle was Sh. Gopal Singh S/o Sh. Jashod Singh, R/o Tunera Malla, Bageshwar and at the time of accident, the insured vehicle was being plied by Sh. Gopal Singh. The complainant submitted own damages claim with the insurance company for the loss sustained by him due to accident of the insured vehicle. The insurance company appointed surveyor, who visited the spot and conducted survey of the vehicle. The insurance company knew very well that at the time of accident, the insured vehicle was being plied by Sh. Gopal Singh, but inspite of that, the insura