STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PUNJAB, CHANDIGARH.

Date of institution : 14.01.2025 Reserved on : 07.11.2025 Date of Decision : 15.12.2025 United India Insurance Company Limited, Railway Station Road, Sangrur, through its Divisional Manager.

Now through its Duly Authorized Signatory Sh. Ravinder Singh, Assistant Manager at Divisional Office, SCO No. 72, IInd Floor, Phase-IX, SAS Nagar, Mohali ….Appellant/Opposite Party No.1 Versus

1. Jaspreet Kaur W/o Late Sh. Sukhwinder Singh, R/o Village Jhaner, Tehsil Malerkotla, District Sangrur.

.…Respondent No.1/Complainant

2. Punjab Health System Corporation, Phase-VI, SAS Nagar, Mohali through its Managing Director.

3. State of Punjab, through Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur.

.…Respondent Nos.2&3/OPs No.2&3 First Appeal under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 against the order dated 28.02.2024 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Malerkotla in RBT/C.C. No. 10 of 2020.

Quorum:-

Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Daya Chaudhary, President 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 : Sh. Nitin Gupta, Advocate For respondent No.1 : Ms. Jasmine, Advocate For respondent No.2 : None For respondent No.3 : None VISHAV KANT GARG, MEMBER :

Appellant/OP No.1 i.e. United India Ins. Co. Ltd. has filed the present Appeal through its Divisional Manager to challenge the impugned order dated 28.02.2024 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Malerkotla (in short, “the District Commission”), whereby the Complaint filed by the Respondent No.1/Complainant-Jaspreet Kaur had been 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 No.1/Complainant in the Complaint filed before the District Commission are that the husband of the Complainant, namely, Sukhwinder Singh was Card Holder No. 9305 3000 1360 3943 of Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna. Under the said scheme, card holder and his family members were entitled for medical reimbursement to the tune of Rs.50,000/- and also entitled for accidental death benefit to the sum of Rs.5,00,000/-. It was averred that except Card separately no terms and conditions were supplied.

4. It was averred that on 04.02.2019, Sukhwinder Singh, the husband of the Complainant met with an accident as a stray animal suddenly had come in front of his vehicle. He had suffered injuries in the said accident and he was taken to Civil Hospital, Malerkotla and lateron he had expired. It was averred that the Complainant or her family members were not aware about the requirement of lodging Police Complaint, therefore, neither the post mortem of the dead body was conducted nor any FIR/DDR was lodged with the Police. Thereafter, after the death of the Insured, while searching in the Almirah, the Complainant found the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna Card issued in the name of her husband. Thereafter, on 19.09.2019, the Complainant had lodged the claim with the OPs on their Toll Free No. 104. Thereafter that on 04.10.2019, the Surveyor of OP No.1 had approached the Complainant and collected all the relevant documents and obtained the signatures of the Complainant on blank printed papers. He gave the assurance that OP No.1 will release the claim amount at the earliest but till date nothing positive had been done.

5. 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 OPs be directed to release the claim amount of Rs.5,00,000/- along with interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of death, to pay compensation to the tune of Rs.50,000/- on account of mental tension, pain, harassment and agony and also be