ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. GHULAM NABI KANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -THROUGH the medium of this appeal, order dated 9. 4. 2007 passed by the learned District Consumer Protection Forum, Srinagar, (hereinafter referred as the Forum), has been challenged. The learned Forum in terms of this order had accepted the complaint of the complainant and allowed him claim of his gutted insured house for a sum of Rs. 4,27,821 along with interest @ 6% p. a. from the institution of the complaint till its realization. Litigation charges of Rs. 2,000 have also been awarded in his favour.

(2.) THE order has been challenged, inter alia, on the grounds that the Surveyor namely Sh. Javed Sofi, was not deputed by the appellant to make any assessment because no claim had been raised by the respondent regarding the alleged loss. That it is totally a false and fabricated case because the alleged gutted building is intact which fact was got verified by the appellant from the Investigators, namely AMS Consultants, who after conducting the investigation submitted their report before the appellant on 11. 10. 2005. On the basis of said investigation, the appellant had come to the conclusion that no fire had broken out in the shop during the intervening night of 24/25. 2. 1997. The appeal is accompanied by Annexure A1 which is a certificate issued by the Director, Fire and Emergency Services, Srinagar, which does not speak of any fire to have ever broken out in the house of the respondent but states that two shops in the ground floor belonging to the brother of the respondent, namely Ghulam Jeelani Kana were affected and those shops were occupied by his tenant namely, Farooq Ahmed Janwari. Those shops were totally empty and only ceiling of one of the shop, along with shutter and sales counter were partly damaged.

(3.) HEARD the arguments.