United India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs SAVITRI RAINA

THIS appeal is directed against the order dated 8.8.2002 passed by the DF whereby the DF has allowed the complaint of the respondent and has directed the appellants to pay assessed amount of Rs. 2,13,700/- to the respondents with 9 per cent interest with effect from 28.10.1999, i.e., date of report of the Surveyor with a litigation charges of Rs. 2,000/-.

BRIEFLY stated the case of complainant is that she insured her three storeyed residential house at Pran Bhawan (Mattan), Anantnag with appellant Insurance Company from 8.5.1998 to 7.5.1999. House was burnt on intervening night of 31st March and 1st April, 1999 for which FIR was lodged with the Police Station Mattan. The complainant had migrated to Jammu due to militancy. Appellant/Company appointed Sharma Surveyor who assessed the loss at Rs. 2,13,701/- but the appellant did not release the amount on the ground that the insured house did not belong to complainant only, it belonged to her mother and sisters. Property belonging basically to their father and was possessed by her mother and the respondent/complainant. The main objection of the appellant is that the assessed amount cannot be given to the respondent only she has deceived the appellant by insuring the whole house in her name. Heard learned Counsel for the parties. Learned Counsel for the appellant has again stressed that the respondent/complainant has not come in good faith before the DF. She had insured the share of the house exclusively in her name. We have considered this argument and gone through the whole revenue record. It is a fact that the appellant had another sister Smt. Shanta Devi who after the death of her daughter relinquished her share in favour of sister who is the respondent in this appeal and Smt. Taravati, her mother was living at that time, so the share of her sister was mutated in the name of respondent/complainant. There is solid evidence and registered documents of relinquishment of share by the sister of the respondent and the Company in her name by the Revenue Authorities. No finger can be raised against this relinquishment. It is the fact that the mother of complainant was living with her in the same house. Respondent has exclusively insured the house in her name. It is also a fact that the mother has now died so the whole share also has devolved on the respondent. The damage to the house is admitted by the appellant. Insurance policy also is admitted.

We have seen the Law of Insurance written by Yudhisthira & S.C. Srivastava, Advocates in 1994 Volume I. It has been explained in this text book that an insurable interest is not restricted to equitable beneficiary interest of any kind and is as effective for this purpose as legal interest. Similarly a husband has an insurable interest in his wife''s property and wife in turn has an insurable interest in the property of her her husband. In view of this if the daughter has insured the whole house including the share of mother, there is no legal impediment in it. Now the mother also has died, the share has devolved on the respondent, so we agree with the findings returned by the DF. There is no merit in the appeal which is dismissed, with the modification that the interest will be payable only from the date of 2 months after the receipt of survey report. Appeal dismissed.