# The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd v. Smt. Preeti @ Preeti Devi & Ors

- **Citation:** (2024) 9 ILRA 952
- **Court:** High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
- **Decided:** 2024-09-03
- **Case number:** Matter Under Article 227 No. 4182 of 2024
- **Bench:** Subhash Vidyarthi
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/the-oriental-insurance-co-ltd-v-smt-preeti-preeti-devi-ors-52549
- **Pages:** 3

## Headnote

Civil Law - The Constitution of India,
1950-Article 227-For rejecting the claim,
the petitioner ought to have made verification
of the income certificate of the deceased
submitted by the opposite parties in a proper
manner. The claim could only be rejected
after coming to a conclusion that the
certificate was forged or fictitious. The mere
fact that the income certificate issued through
offline mode could not be verified by online
mode, cannot be a ground for rejection of the
insurance claim- The court deprecates the
conduct of the petitioner in filing this frivolous
petition. (Para 7 & 11)

Petition dismissed. (E-15)

## Text

952 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
bear their own costs of the instant
litigation.
----------
(2024) 9 ILRA 952
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: LUCKNOW 03.09.2024

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE SUBHASH VIDYARTHI, J.

Matter Under Article 227 No. 4182 of 2024

The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
 ...Petitioner
Versus
Smt. Preeti @ Preeti Devi & Ors.
 ...Respondents

Counsel for the Petitioner:
Vineet Singh Chauhan

Counsel for the Respondents:
Rinku Verma, Ajeet Kumar, Arvind Kumar, C.S.C.

Civil Law - The Constitution of India,
1950-Article 227-For rejecting the claim,
the petitioner ought to have made verification
of the income certificate of the deceased
submitted by the opposite parties in a proper
manner. The claim could only be rejected
after coming to a conclusion that the
certificate was forged or fictitious. The mere
fact that the income certificate issued through
offline mode could not be verified by online
mode, cannot be a ground for rejection of the
insurance claim- The court deprecates the
conduct of the petitioner in filing this frivolous
petition. (Para 7 & 11)

Petition dismissed. (E-15)

(Delivered by Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi, J.)

1. Heard Sri Vineet Singh Chauhan,
the leraned counsel for the petitioner, Sri
Hemant
Kumar
Pandey,
the
learned
Standing Counsel for the opposite parties
no.4 and 5, Sri Rinku Verma and Sri Ajeet
Kumar, the learned counsel for the opposite
parties no.1 to 3 and perused the records.

2. By means of the instant writ
petition filed under Article 227 of the
Constitution of India, the petitioner has
challenged the validity of judgment and
order
dated
10.05.2024,
passed
by
Permanent
Lok Adalat,
Lucknow
in
Permanant Lok Adalat Case No.428 of
2018: Smt. Preeti and others Vs. Oriental
Insurance Company Limited, directing the
petitioner to pay Rs.5,00,000/- to the
opposite parties no.1 to 3 as death
compensation claim amount under Group
Accident Insurance Policy, consequent to
death of husband of opposite party no.1,
who died on 28.12.2016.

3. Briefly stated, the facts of the
case
are
that
the
petitioner-Oriental
Insurance Company Limited has entered
into a contract with the State of U.P. under
Mukhyamantri Kisan Evam Sarvhit Beema
Yojna,
which
is
a
Group Accident
Insurance Policy under which the petitioner
is liable to pay claim amount in respect of
injuries/death caused due to the accident of
eligible persons.

4. The opposite parties no.1, 2 and
3 filed a claim stating that the husband of
the opposite party no.1 and father of the
opposite parties no.2 and 3 died on
28.12.2016 in a road accident, while he was
aged merely 30 years. The insurance claim
was supported by an income certificate
dated 21.09.2024 of the deceased issued by
the Tehsildar, Kulpahar, Mahoba. On
10.03.2017 the petitioner rejected the
insurance claim for the reason that the
income certificate could not be verified in
its online verification. The opposite parties
submitted a fresh income certificate dated
20.03.2017
issued
by
the
Tehsildar,
9 All. The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Smt. Preeti @ Preeti Devi & Ors.
953
Kulpahar, Mahoba. After rejection of the
claim the opposite parties no.1, 2 and 3
filed P.L.A. Case No.428 of 2018 before
the Permanent Lok Adalat which has been
allowed by means of the impugned order.

5. While assailing the validity of
the order passed by the Permanent Lok
Adalat, the learned counsel for the
petitioner has submitted that the income
certificate dated 21.09.2014 that was
initially submitted by the claimants along
with their claim, could not be verified in
online verification and the subsequent
income certificate issued by the Tehsildar
in the year 2017 cannot form the basis of a
claim raised in the year 2014.

6. Replying to the aforesaid
submission made by the learned counsel for
the petitioner, the learned counsel for the
opposite parties no.1, 2 and 3 as well as the
learned Standing Counsel appearing for the
State have submitted that the income
certificate dated 21.09.2014 had not been
issued
through
online
method
and,
therefore, its validity could not be verified
through online mode. It had been issued by
the Tehsildar through offline mode and it
ought to have been verified through offline
mode only, but the petitioner-insurance
company failed to do so and it wrongly
repudiated the claim on the ground that the
certificate issued through offline mode
could not be verified through online mode.

7. For rejecting the claim, the
petitioner ought to have made verification
of the income certificate of the deceased
submitted by the opposite parties in a
proper manner. The claim could only be
rejected after coming to a conclusion that
the certificate was forged or fictitious. The
mere fact that the income certificate issued
through offline mode could not be verified
by online mode, cannot be a ground for
rejection of the insurance claim.

8. The learned Standing Counsel
has submitted that the fresh income
certificate dated 20.03.2017 bears a QR
code thereon and therefore its validity can
be verified through online mode and the
learned Standing Counsel has himself
verified its validity and has submitted a
printout
taken
from
the
relevant
government web portal which verifies
genuineness of the income certificate dated
20.03.2017.

9. From the aforesaid facts, it
appears that the petitioner had wrongly
rejected the claim of opposite parties no.1,
2 and 3 by stating that the income
certificate issued in the year 2014 through
offline mode could not be verified through
online mode and the petitioner-insurance
company has thereby avoided payment of
insurance claim to the opposite parties
no.1, 2 and 3, which is payable since the
year 2016.

10. Sri Hemant Kumar Pandey, the
learned Standing Counsel has placed before
this court a judgment rendered by a
Division Bench of this court in the case of
Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. Vs.
Uma Devi and others: AIR (2021) All 82,
wherein this court has strongly deprecated
the conduct of the petitioner-company in
filing frivolous litigation for avoiding its
responsibility for payment of insurance
claims under contracts of insurance entered
by the petitioner, in the following words:-

"25. Thus, the petitioner
insurance company not being an
ordinary
litigant
and
more
particularly bound by the insurance
contract (as briefly noted above)
954 INDIAN LAW REPORTS ALLAHABAD SERIES
should not have filed the present
frivolous writ petition to challenge
the
impugned
contractually
"binding order". The conduct of the
petitioner in filing the present writ
petition deserves to be condemned
inasmuch as a frivolous writ
petition has been filed to drag in
litigation the respondent No.1 who
is
a
widow
and
belongs
to
economically weaker and socially
and educationally disadvantageous
section of the society."

11. Keeping in view the aforesaid
facts and circumstances of the case this
court finds no merit in the petition and the
court deprecates the conduct of the
petitioner in filing this frivolous petition.

12. The petition is accordingly
dismissed.
----------
(2024) 9 ILRA 954
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
CIVIL SIDE
DATED: LUCKNOW 10.09.2024

BEFORE

THE HON'BLE SUBHASH VIDYARTHI, J.

Matter Under Article 227 No. 4226 of 2024

M/S Arun Entp. ...Petitioner
Versus
A.D.J., Court No. 9, Lko. & Ors.
 ...Respondents

Counsel for the Petitioner:
Praveen Tripathi, Saud Rais

Counsel for the Respondents:
Aakchad Nath, Nirmit Srivastava

Civil Law - The Constitution of India,
1950-Article 227 -Transfer of Property
Act, 1882-Section 106- there was a lease
agreement dated 30.07.1980 between the
parties in respect of a portion of tenanted
premises measuring 530 Square Feet, which
categorically St.s that the lease was a month to
month lease-Subsequently a further portion of
the property of the opposite parties was given
on lease to the petitioner under an oral
agreement, the entire leased premises was
always treated as a single tenement and a
single rent was payable for the entire tenanted
premises- Petitioner has failed to discharge his
burden to prove that his tenancy was an year
to-year
tenancy-
Nothing
on
record
to
substantiate that the rent was payable in
respect of the tenanted premises on an yearly
basis. Even if rent was paid on yearly basis on
some occasions, it would not make the lease an
yearly lease. (Para 23, 25 & 26)

Petition dismissed. (E-15)

List of Cases cited:

1. Idandas Vs Anant Ramchandra Phadke
(Dead) by Lrs.: (1982) 1 SCC 27

2. Paul Rubber Industries (P) Ltd. Vs Amit
Chand Mitra: 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1216

(Delivered by Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi, J.)

1. Heard Sri Saud Rais, the learned
counsel for the petitioner, Sri Nirmit
Srivastava, the learned counsel for the
opposite parties and perused the records.

2. By means of the instant petition,
filed under Article 227 of the Constitution
of India, the petitioner has challenged the
validity of a judgment and order dated
08.08.2024 passed by learned Judge, Small
Causes Court, Lucknow in S.C.C. Suit No.
48 of 2017 (old number 218 of 2014),
whereby the Suit for ejectment and
recovery of arrears of rent and damages
filed by opposite parties against the
petitioner was decreed. The petitioner has
also challenged the judgment and order
dated 08.08.2024 passed by the learned