RAJINDER SHARMA Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal under Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Consumer Protection Act 1987 is directed against order dated 14.01.2013 passed by the J&K Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jammu (for brevity the Commission) declining the prayer of the appellantcomplainant, claiming loss to the tune of more than Rs. 8.00 lacs on account of fire incident which is alleged to have occurred on 22.03.2007 on the basis of insurance cover.

(2.) It is appropriate to mention that the shop premises along with other contents were insured under the insurance cover from 27.09.2006 to the mid night of 26.09.2007. The appellant2 complainant claimed that the premises were covered by the insurance cover but the insurance company rejected the claim on the ground that incident of fire actually took place in the residential building of the appellant-complainant where he had stocked some items of trade also but not in the shop premises which were covered by the insurance contract. The view of the commission is discernable from a reading of para 2 of the impugned order which is set out below:

(3.) Mr. Amit Gupta learned counsel for the appellantcomplainant has drawn our attention to the insurance policy (at page 29 of the paper book) and argued that clause 2 of the policy must be given liberal interpretation and the residential area where the fire incident took place and stock suffered damage would be deemed to be covered by insurance contract. According to the learned counsel the residential premises and the shop premises are inseparable and, therefore, insurance cover must be extended to that area.