SINGAL UDYOG Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been filed under sec. 19 of the Act 1986 in challenge to the Order dtd. 9/4/2018 of the State Commission in complaint no. 298 of 2017.

(2.) We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant (the 'complainant firm') and the learned counsel for the respondents no. 1 and no. 2 (the 'insurance co.'). No one appears for the respondent no. 3 (the 'surveyor').

(3.) The matter relates to repudiation of an insurance claim. As evinces from a perusal of the record the complainant firm had taken insurance to cover the risks of burglary and house breaking. Burglary took place in the insured premises in the intervening night of 12/13/8.2015. An FIR was lodged on 13/8/2015. The police could not trace the culprits and filed an 'untraced report' under sec. 173 of the Cr.P.C. Though the complainant firm had not mentioned details of the approximate quantity of goods stolen or the approximate value of the loss in its first information report with the police, but it initially raised a claim of Rs.54,00,000.00 with the insurance co. and later on revised it to Rs.75,67,919.00. In the normal wont of its functioning the insurance co. went into the mechanics of survey and investigation, considered the preliminary survey report dtd. 31/3/2016, the investigation report dtd. 26/6/2016 and the final survey report dtd. 4/7/2016, and closed the claim as 'no claim' vide its letter dtd. 29/8/2016. The complainant firm feeling aggrieved filed a complaint with the State Commission on 2/5/2017, which did not find favour with the State Commission and it dismissed the same vide its impugned Order dtd. 9/4/2018.