ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD Vs. INDIRA RANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal raises an interesting question whether a copy of insurance policy, filed by the insurance company along with its written statement, could be excluded from consideration on the ground that company had failed to make out a case for production of secondary evidence? On the answer to this question will depend the extent of liability of the company. If it can be held that copy is to be taken into consideration, appellant's liability would be only Rs. 15,000/ -, otherwise it would be unlimited.

(2.) THE appeal arises out of a claim petition filed by the claimants of one Ved Paul Sharma who was killed on 1.11.1985, while travelling in a bus as a passenger. M.A.C.T., Udhampur, awarded compensation of Rs. 95,000/ - to the claimants and burdened the company with entire liability, despite the fact that company had limited liability in its written statement and had also filed a copy of insurance policy along with. At no stage had any objection been raised with regard to the genuineness or admissibility of the copy by any contesting party. Consequently, no issue was struck regarding the extent of company's liability. Tribunal allowed the matter to proceed and eventually excluded the copy from consideration. While doing so, it held as under: The insurance company in this case produced only a copy of the insurance policy without making a case for the production of secondary evidence and the copy without its contents having been admitted by the other party and without its having been proved in accordance with law, such document vis -a -vis evidence has to be excluded from consideration notwithstanding its admissibility remained unquestioned by the petitioner.

(3.) MR . Choudhary, learned counsel for the appellant, has submitted that since the genuineness of the copy was not under question, there was no necessity for the company to make out a case for production of secondary evidence and to prove the contents of the copy. The company, he argued, had discharged its obligation by placing copy of the policy on record and in case the insured wanted to show that the company's liability was unlimited, it was for him to establish it by bringing the original policy on record.