2^Nd ADDITIONAL BENCH

STATE  CONSUMER  DISPUTES  REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PUNJAB, CHANDIGARH.

First Appeal No.561 of 2017 

                                                          Date of Institution: 26.07.2017

                                                          Date of Reserved: 28.11.2017

                                                          Date of Decision:   08.12.2017

HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Ltd., having its Registered Office at Raman House, H.T. Parekh Marg-169 Backbay Reclamation Mumbai-400020, through its Managing Director.

                                                                     Appellant/Opposite party No.2

Versus

1. Rajwinder Kaur widow of Sh. Surjit Singh, R/o Village and Post Office Dharamkot Randhawa, Tehsil Dera Baba Nanak, Senior Secondary School, Distt. Gurdaspur.

   Respondent No.1/complainant

2. HDFC Bank Limited, Hanuman Chowk, Tibri Road, Gurdaspur, Through its Manager.

                                                     Respondent/opposite party No.2

First Appeal against order dated 15.05.2017 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,  Gurdaspur.

Quorum:-

          Shri Gurcharan Singh Saran, Presiding Judicial Member.

         Shri Rajinder Kumar Goyal, Member

Present:-

          For the appellant          :         Sh.Nitesh Singhi, Advocate

          For respondent No.1   :         Sh.Karan Grover, Advocate

          For respondent No.2   :         Ex-parte

RAJINDER KUMAR GOYAL MEMBER

ORDER

                    The appellant/opposite party No.2 (hereinreferred to as OP No.2) has filed the present appeal against the order dated 15.05.2017 passed in Consumer Complaint No.360 of 2016 by District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,  Gurdaspur (herein referred as District Forum) vide which the complaint filed by the complainant was party allowed and further ordered to OP No.2/insurer to pay the impugned insurance claim under the category of ‘accidental death’ to the complainant besides to pay her Rs.10,000/- as compensation (for the harassment inflicted) and Rs.5000/- as cost (of litigation) within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of these orders otherwise the aggregate awarded amount shall attract interest @9% P.A. from the date of the orders till actual payment.

2.                Complaint was filed by the respondent No.1/complainant (hereinafter referred as complainant) under Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short, "the Act") against the OPs on the averments that the husband of the complainant namely Sh. Surjit Singh deceased during his life time, along with his wife (claimant) approached the OP No.1 for borrowing a personal loan. At the time of advancement of the said loan, the concerned employees of the OP No.1 told to the complainant that under the said loan scheme given to deceased Surjit Singh, his life would also be insured to the tune of Rs.1 lakh. The said employee also told that the policy document would be provided by the insurance company at his home address but the during the life time of the deceased Surjit Singh, said policy documents were not delivered to him at his address. As such the husband of the complainant hired the services of the OPs and is their consumer. It was further pleaded that unfortunately on 08.05.2015 husband of the complainant died and the complainant approached the OP No.1, submitted all the required documents with OPs but her claim was repudiated by OP No.2 on the ground that as per the case summary which was received by them deceased Surjit Singh had a sudden heart attack on 08.05.2015 with no prior related symptoms and he expired on the same day whereas the fact on account of which the claim of the complainant was repudiated was not disclosed to the insured at any point of time. It was also pleaded that complainant number of time requested the Ops to consider her claim but they did not consider the same and finally refused to do so.  This act of the Ops amounted to deficiency in service. Hence t