Complainant/respondent Radha Rice and Dal Mill was insured with the appellant insurance company.  A fire took place in the mill on the night intervening 14/15.05.1997.  Under the policy, stock of the Mill (paddy, rice, dal, bran, husk and raw material) was insured.  Fire could be controlled after eight hours of operation.   Appellant was informed about the incident on 15.05.1997 which appointed                       Sri Surveyors & Adjustors Pvt. Ltd. as surveyor/investigator.  Sh. A.K. Gupta visited the spot on 15.05.1997 and inspected stock register, took photographs and inspected the burnt material and machinery.  Thereafter, again the inspection was carried out by another surveyor Sh. V.S. Gupta, who also took the statement of the son of the complainant.  All the documents were produced before the surveyor.  Claim was not settled, feeling aggrieved against which respondent filed the complaint.

          Appellant on being served entered appearance and filed its Written Statement.  Appellant took the stand that as per report of the Surveyor dated 20.03.1998 it was found that what was being termed

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as paddy was in fact husk.  After putting some gunny bags of paddy in the front row an attempt was made to mislead.  It was submitted by the Complainant that the height of the stock was 15 feet but this height was found by the surveyor only upto 5 feet.  The paddy cannot burn so swiftly that its height is reduced to 5 feet from 15 feet.  It is stated that investigator Sh. S.P. Pandey stated in his report dated 25.3.1998 that after examination of the account register, audit reports for the year 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 by hand-writing expert it was found that all the reports were written by a single pen and in one or two sitting.  Since the cause of fire was doubtful, the fire brigade was requested to re-investigate.  In the re-investigation report of the fire brigade department, it was stated that the cause of fire in the mill was found doubtful.  From the heap of burnt stock, iron rod like hook and the use of kerosene was found.  According to the appellant, complainant had themselves put the mill on fire and that the fire did not take place due to short-circuit as per the report of the surveyor.

          State Commission in its order noted that even after 9/10 years of the filing of the complaint in the year 1997, appellant had filed only the Written Statement and the photocopy of the surveyor report;

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that no affidavit in evidence in support of the Written Statement had been filed; that from the order sheets it was clear that from the year 2005-2006 continuous time was given to the appellant to file their evidence but the appellant did not file the evidence with support evidence till the last date of hearing; that after completion of hearing there is no occasion for any party for filing any evidence/affidavit etc.  State Commission taking the facts stated in the complaint to be correct allowed the complaint and directed the appellant to pay sum of Rs.15,61,500/- to the respondent along with interest @ 8% p.a. from the date of filing of the claim till realization.

          Counsel for the appellant contends that the appellant had filed affidavit of the surveyor as well as officer of the appellant; that an application to that effect was