SREEDEVI. M Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Dated this the 6th day of February, 2024 This is the second writ petition filed by the petitioner, after having obtained a judgment earlier in W.P.(C).No.12693/2020.

(2.) The petitioner is stated to be the wife of late Vijayakumar, who unfortunately died of drowning, after having accidentally tripped into a well on 18/10/2018. The petitioner says that her husband was covered by a Group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme ('Scheme' for short), namely Ext.P9; and thus that she was entitled to compensation to the sum of Rs.10.00 lakhs, but that this was denied on the allegation that her husband, at the time of death, was under the influence of alcohol. She says that this was irrelevant because, what is important as per Ext.P9 policy was the verified cause of death, which, according to her, cannot be attributed to the influence of alcohol - assuming that her husband was under such at the relevant time.

(3.) The petitioner says that she, therefore, had approached this Court through the aforementioned writ petition, namely, W.P.(C).No.12693/2020, which was disposed of, directing the competent Authority to reconsider the case, which has now entered in Ext.P8, wherein, it has been reiterated that, as per Ext.P9 policy, particularly Clause 6 thereof, any death due to accident, while under the influence of alcohol, would stand excluded from its ambit.