ORIGINAL JURISDICTION - Orissa High Court
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION - Orissa High Court
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION - Orissa High Court
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2010 ( I ) ILR-CUT- 289<br />
B.P.DAS,J & S.C.PARIJA,J.<br />
ANUPAMA BEHERA & ORS. -V-D.M.,L.I.C. OF INDIA,CUTTACK & ANR.*<br />
JANUARY 29,2010.<br />
INSURANCE ACT, 1938 (ACT NO.4 OF 1938) – SEC.45.<br />
Repudiation of claim – Test to determine – If the facts not<br />
disclosed in the proposal form has any bearing on the risk undertaken<br />
by the insurer then the same can be construed as a material fact for<br />
repudiation.<br />
In the present case the insured died on 18.06.2004 due to heart<br />
failure – No material that the insured suffered from any serious disease<br />
affecting his life expectancy prior to his taking the policies – The<br />
medical book maintained by the employer of the insured disclosed that<br />
he had complained of lower back pain in the year 1999 – Merely<br />
because the insured had not disclosed in the proposal form some<br />
minor ailments which had no material bearing on the risk undertaken<br />
by the L.I.C., the same can not be construed as fraudulent suppression<br />
of material facts so as to authorise the L.I.C. to repudiate its liability<br />
under the contract of Insurance.<br />
Held, repudiation of Insurance Policies and rejection of claim by<br />
the L.I.C. not justified.<br />
(Para 15,16,17)<br />
Case laws Referred to:-<br />
1.AIR 1962 SC 814 : ( Mithoolal Nayak -V- Life Insurance Corporation of<br />
India).<br />
2.AIR 1960 Calcutta 696 : (Rohini Nandan Goswami -V-Ocean Accident &<br />
Guarantee Corporation Ltd.).<br />
3.AIR 1961 Punjab 253 : (Lakshmi Insurance Co.Ltd.-V-Bibi Padma Wati).<br />
4.AIR 1968 Madras 324 : (Life Insurance Corporation of India -V-Janaki<br />
Ammal).<br />
5.AIR 2001 SC 549 : (Life Insurance Corporation of India & Ors.-V-Smt.Asha<br />
Goel & Anr<br />
6.AIR 2008 SC 424 : (P.J.Chacko & Anr.-V-Chairman, Life Insurance<br />
Corporation of India & Ors.)<br />
For Petitioners- M/s.J.M.Mohanty,K.C.Mishra,T.R.Mohanty,<br />
P.C.Mohaparana.<br />
For Opp.Parties – M/s.A.R.Dash, R.N.Behera & S.N.Nanda-1.<br />
*W.P.(C) NO.6994 OF 2005. In the matter of an application under Articles<br />
226 & 227 of the Constitution of India.<br />
S.C. PARIJA, J. The action of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (for<br />
short ‘L.I.C.’) in repudiating all its liabilities under Policy Nos.583852302,<br />
583851466 and 583707315, on the ground that the deceased insured had<br />
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