A consumer commission in Mumbai has directed Axis Bank and New India Assurance company to pay an insurance claim of Rs 30 lakh along with interest to a policeman who sustained injuries resulting in permanent disabilities after an accident in 2017.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, South Mumbai, in the order noted that, according to the facts, the bank and the insurance company were in agreement to provide insurance cover to police personnel as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the bank and the Mumbai Police.
“The policeman’s insurance claim has been arbitrarily rejected/repudiated,” the commission observed.
“It is based on wrong interpretation and hence the order of repudiation is found to be unsustainable under the law,” stated the commission in its order, a copy of which was made available on Sunday.
Rajesh Pawar, the claimant, was stationed at the Kasturba Marg police station in suburban Borivali (designation not mentioned in the order) when he filed the complaint in December 2020. He asserted that as per an MoU signed between the bank and the police department in 2015, personnel opening accounts in the bank would be provided with a Power Salute Debit cum ATM Card, offering personal accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh and air accident cover of Rs 25 lakh.
Pawar met with an accident in October 2017 and was hospitalized for an extended period, sustaining significant bodily injuries resulting in permanent disabilities, which prevented him from work for almost a year. A government medical authority certified him as “71 per cent handicap”.
Upon recovering from the injuries, Pawar submitted necessary documents to claim insurance from the bank in April 2019. However, the insurance company rejected the claim, citing delayed submission of documents and asserting that partial disability was not covered in the policy terms.
In response, the bank contended that Pawar had raised a “false claim”, emphasizing that he received his salary without interruption, and thus, there was no loss of employment or any mental or physical harassment. The bank also stated that partial disability was not covered under the scheme.
The commission, after reviewing all submissions, concluded that both parties were in agreement to provide insurance cover to police personnel as per the MoU between the bank and the Mumbai Police. Hence, the rejection of the claim was deemed arbitrary and unsustainable under the law.
Consequently, the commission directed Axis Bank and New India Assurance to jointly and severally issue the claim of Rs 30 lakh with an interest rate of 6 per cent from the date of repudiation (June 5, 2019) until its actual realization. Additionally, they were instructed to pay Rs 2.50 lakh to Pawar as compensation for mental agony and Rs 25,000 towards litigation costs.
