SOUTH CENTRAL RAILWAYS Vs. THOLLABANDI NAGALAKSHMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Revision Petition is filed before this Commission by the South Central Railways, who were OP No. 2 before the District Forum, Krishna II, Vijaywada, in a consumer complaint filed by the present Respondent No. 1. Respondent No.2, LIC of India, in the present proceedings, was OP No. 1 before the District forum. The Revision is filed against concurrent decisions of the Fora below.

(2.) The case of the complainant arises from two LIC policies taken by her husband on 16.3.1998 and 21.3.1998. In both cases, OP-2 was to deduct the premia, month to month, from the salary of the assured and credit them to OP-1. The assured died on 19.7.2002 but the Complainant did not succeed in getting her claims under the policies settled till 4.5.2007 when she made the complaint to the District Forum. The reason was that seven instalments of the premium, in each case, had not been credited by OP-2 to OP-1, over a period of three years prior to the death of the assured.

(3.) The District Forum held OP-1 responsible for not keeping the insured informed on the default on payment of premium. OP-2 was held responsible similarly for not crediting the instalments though the policies were under the salary savings scheme. Accordingly, OP-1 and OP-2 were both held liable to pay Rs. 85,000 each to the Complainants, with interest and costs. The appeal filed by the South Central Railways, against the above mentioned award of the District Forum, was dismissed by A.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, holding that it was devoid of any merits. Hence, OP-2 is before us in this Revision Petition. We have perused the records of the case and heard learned Counsel for the Revision Petitioner.