SANDHYA SAH Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This case is now confined to the petitioners claim for interest for the delay in payment of the sum assured against the accidental death of her husband. In the facts and circumstances of the case, the claim of the petitioner appears quite irresistible. Hence, the only question that needs to be addressed is as to which of the two respondents would be liable to recompense the petitioner for the delay in payment. The two respondents in this case are the Central Bank of India and the New India Assurance Company, both well-known and big names in their respective areas of operation in the Public Sector. Unfortunately, in this case both the Public Sector giants appear in very poor light in regard to their internal functioning as well as in their dealing with one another. The sad part is that it was an individual person, the petitioner, who was made to suffer because the bank and the Insurance Company did not keep their records properly.

(2.) The facts of the case are very brief and can be stated thus. The petitioner is the widowed wife of Late Krishna Chandra Sah who died in a car accident at Durban, South Africa on 9-12-1995. At the time of his death he was holding a Centralcard and a Leela Centralcard issued by the Central Bank of India, Boring Road. Branch, Patna. The Leela-Centralcard gave the card-holder an insurance coverage benefit of Rs. 10 lacs in case of accidental death. It appears that in the circumstances in which the death of her husband took place, the petitioner was not even fully aware of the different insurance policies/cards held by her deceasedhusband. The Centralcard held by the deceased-husband of the petitioner was discovered earlier. It was submitted to the bank and the payment of the insurance money under that card (Rs. 1 lac) was made to the petitioner without much difficulty or delay.

(3.) In this case the Court is concerned with the payment under the Leela Centralcard It is undeniable that the card in question was submitted by the petitioner before the Central Bank of India on 17-12-1998 and on the same day information in regard to its submission was sent by the bank to the New India Assurance Company. Yet no payment was made to the petitioner for over three years and she finally filed this writ petition on 7-1-2002 seeking a direction to the respondents-bank and the Insurance Company for paying her the insurance money of Rs. 10 lacs under the Leela Centralcard. A cheque of Rs. 10 lacs was offered to her by the Insurance Company in course of the proceedings before this Court on 22-4-2003. The petitioner initially declined to accept the amount without reasonable interest for delayed payment, but, later on, under constraint of her circumstances she accepted the cheque as recorded in the order, dated 20-5-2003.