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Judgment
THIS case arises out of repudiation by the Insurance Company to pay compensation for the loss of an insured bus.
HEARD the contentions of both the sides. Mr. Vishnu Mehra vehemently argued that the bus was overloaded when the, accident took place. It was carrying more passengers than the permitted capacity i.e. 30 passengers apart from the driver. At the time of the accident actually 42 if not 43 passengers were travelling. Therefore, the Insurance Company was right in repudiating the claim of the insured. It has been brought to our notice that the accident took place because the bus while travelling had to cross a bailey bridge which collapsed. It is nobody''s case that the bridge collapsed because of excess weight carried by the bus. The cause of the accident is not attributable to excess passengers carried by the bus. Under these circumstances, we are of the view that the Insurance Company was not right in repudiating the claim of the insured merely because she bus was carrying excess passengers when the cause of the accident was totally unrelated to carrying of excess passengers. For example, if the bus was struck by lightening and destroyed could the Insurance Company refuse to pay on the ground of overloading. Surely not. the Insurance Company could not refuse to pay on the ground of overloading when it did not have any connection at all with collapsing of the bridge. We are unable to uphold the contention of Mr. Mehra in this regard. The State Commission has awarded Rs. 6,38,000/- being the value of the vehicle. This is in excess of the insured value of the bus which is Rs. 4,50,000/-. The Insurance Company is not liable to pay more than the insured amount. The State Commission has also awarded compensation on the ground of business loss, mental agony and hardship which are unwarranted to the facts of this case. We are also of the view that the repudiation was on an arguable legal ground. Under the circumstances, the Insurance Company should not be made liable to pay. The Insurance Company is, however, liable to pay costs as awarded by the State Commission. The direction to pay Bank interest on the loan taken by the insured to purchase the bus and interest @ 18% p.a. on the awarded amount will also Stand deleted.
IT has also been brought to our notice by Mr. Vishnu Mehra that pursuant to the order passed by this Commission he had already deposited a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs in this Commission. The amount of Rs. 2 lakhs with the accrued interest may be availed of by the complainant. The Registrar is directed to pay the amount to the complainant. The Insurance Company will pay the balance amount of Rs. 2,30,000/- alongwith the costs of Rs. 10,000/- within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If the amount is not paid as directed above the amount will carry interest at the rate of 18% p.a. till date of payment.
THE appeal is disposed of as above.