DINESHBHAI CHANDARANA Vs. LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants in this appeal are the parents and nominees of one Jigneshbhai Dineshbhai Chandarana in respect of the life insurance policies obtained by the latter. Jigneshbhai died an unfortunate death in a motor vehicle accident on 29.09.1997 at the age of 21. During his life time, Jignesh had taken 16 life insurance policies as detailed below: <STYLE TYPE="text/css"> <!-- .style1 {font-family: Verdana} --> </STYLE> <FRM>JUDGEMENT_358_CPJ3_2010_1.html</FRM>

(2.) The parents of Jignesh, being the nominees of these policies, filed claims with the respondent Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in January 1998. The LIC settled the claims in respect of policies at sr. no. 1 to 15 but repudiated that under the policy at sr. no. 16, which was taken on 28.03.1997 for the sum of Rs. 5 lakh.

(3.) Against this repudiation the parents/nominees of Jignesh filed a consumer complaint before the Gujarat State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (in short, 'the State Commission'). By its order dated 13.04.2006, the State Commission dismissed the complaint (no. 6 of 2001) on two grounds: (i) the complaint had been filed beyond the period of limitation of two years laid down in section 24A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereafter, 'the Act') and (ii) in the proposal form for the last policy, Jignesh did not deliberately mention the three policies taken in 1995, thus violating one of the conditions for issuance of the policy. It is against this order that the parents/nominees of Jignesh have come up in appeal.