Bajaj Allianz told to pay Rs 79,207 to complainant

Mohali, January 22

The Mohali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd to reimburse a resident of Sector 70 here for loss/damage to his car to the tune of Rs 79,207 with interest, thereon, for the relevant period and also the costs of litigation.

Balbir Singh had in a complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, said he had got his Skoda-Octavia (Rider), model 2005, insured with the company. The car came in contact with water on September 2, 2010, while being driven on the road dividing Sectors 70 and 71, Mohali. As a result thereof, the engine of the car broke down.

The matter was reported to the company and on its instructions the car was brought to the workshop of Krishna Auto Sales, Chandigarh. After that, the company sent a surveyor, Saravjeet Singh, to the workshop. On his instructions, engineers and mechanics of the workshop opened the engine and removed the damaged parts with a view to assessing the loss.

After that, the surveyor prepared his survey report and submitted it to the company. On the instructions of the surveyor, the workshop repaired the engine of the car and made the same in a proper running condition. The workshop prepared a bill of repair charges totalling Rs 96,520.

On the directions of the surveyor, the complainant paid the repair charges from his pocket. The surveyor gave an assurance that Rs 96,520 would be reimbursed to him by the company. Instead of reimbursing the same, the company settled the claim for Rs 17,313 only and denying the claim to the remaining amount on the ground that “internal parts inside the engine body cannot be damaged merely by coming in contact with water” and that as per the policy terms and conditions, the loss was not covered by the policy. Condition No.2 (a) says “consequential loss, depreciation, wear and tear, mechanical or electrical breakdown, failures or breakages” is not covered. The complainant said he was entitled to the reimbursement of the remaining amount as well.

The complainant alleged deficiency in service on the part of the company and sought directions to its representatives concerned in the case to pay him the remaining charges of loss/damage to the tune of Rs 79,207 with interest thereon, compensation for harassment and agony and litigation expenses.

However, the company branch office concerned and the claim department stood by their letters reiterating that the remaining amount of Rs 79,207 could not be reimbursed to the complainant on account of Condition 2 (a) of the terms and conditions. They also pleaded that their surveyor assessed the loss to the tune of Rs 17,313 only and they had paid this amount to the complainant. Denying any deficiency in service, they sought the dismissal of the complaint.

After careful consideration of the arguments and evidence, the forum bench, comprising BS Mehandiratta, president, Dr SS Dhaliwal, member, and HK Ghuman, member, allowed the complaint and directed the company on January 16 to reimburse to the complainant the remaining amount of loss/damage to the car to the tune of Rs 79,207 with interest thereon at the rate of 9 per cent per annum with effect from December 3, 2010 (the date on which they paid the amount of Rs 17,313) till the date of actual payment. They were also directed to pay to the complainant the costs of litigation totalling Rs 3,000.

13 more nations to get visas on arrival

NEW DELHI: The number of nations whose citizens are eligible for visas on arrival (VoA) in India is likely to be expanded to include 13 countries largely from Europe, south-east and central Asia after a review convened by the PMO felt security conditions need not be a hurdle to promote tourism.

Countries that could be offered VoA includeMalaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine,Kazakhstan, Brazil and South Africa. At the meeting - also attended by officials from other ministries like culture and environment - it was made clear that security cannot be invoked to strike down important government initiatives.

In a separate, but related review, government is planning a major boost to skill development by aiming to add a eight-crore-strong workforce over the next five years. A big step in this direction could be introducing vocational study as elective options in classes IX to XII so that credits in these subjects can be counted for university admissions.

Home ministry has been asked to work on details of the proposed visa regime in a manner that factors in security concerns by utilizing information-sharing agreements with Asean and theEuropean Union while ensuring that travel to India becomes less hassle-free.

Ramping up tourist numbers is seen as a significant revenue earner with 600,000 foreign visitors a year being a miniscule proportion of global tourism. With timely intervention, the sector can grow much faster than the 24 million jobs currently targeted in the 12th Plan. So far, the VoA scheme has registered modest success with over 10,000 visas issued last year.

At present, 13 countries whose nationals can avail a visa on arrival include Finland, Japan,Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laosand Myanmar. But the list excludes more populous nations even in the Asean who can be tapped for a much larger tourist footfall.

Tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahai said, "Government is aware of the urgent need to develop infrastructure to ensure there is adequate connectivity, hotel room availability and facilities for tourists." The government is also drawing lessons from European countries that have leveraged tourism to tide over financial woes.

The government is also considering a spate of measures to kick start its skill-development programme by roughly doubling the targeted addition of skilled persons from existing 40 lakh a year. This is seen as essential, keeping in mind rapidly growing sectors like tourism, information technology and textiles.

The problem of lack of skilled people had caught the attention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during UPA-I, but despite reports being commissioned and submitted, the issue was never quite addressed. Now, the government has initiated a curriculum evaluation that is intended to introduce vocational study as elective subjects in classes IX to XII.

In a departure from past practice, study of these subjects will count for students keen on attending university as it is felt that if they can earn credits and keep options open, they might be tempted to take up vocational areas in school itself.

On tourism, the PMO has also asked the MHA and the ministry of external affairs to resolve the confusion around restrictions on re-entry of tourists within a 60-day period. The visa rule is likely to be relaxed and a solution reached in the next one month.

Besides increasing VoA facility to four additional airports, including Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi and Bengaluru, the PMO has asked the civil aviation ministry to improve the facilities in the existing airports of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai so that tourists do not have to stand for hours for emigration and other clearances. The ministries of home and civil aviation have also been asked to increase counters and accept immigration fees in both Indian currency and dollars.

20 pc decline in consumer cases in UT area

Chandigarh, January 21

The consumer courts in Chandigarh have witnessed 20 per cent decline in the cases filed by consumers as per figures released by the Secretary of UT State Consumer Commission.

As per analysis of the figures of the last five years, only 2,798 cases have been received by the consumer courts till December 31 last year, as against the average annual filing of 3,530 cases for the last five years in Chandigarh, which has the dubious distinction of having the highest per-capita filing of consumer complaints.

“But the decline is neither due to higher consumer satisfaction nor due to any inertia on the part of the consumer public,” said president of the Ghuman Law Firm, Chandigarh. The apex court is continuously restricting the scope of consumer jurisdiction on account of strict interpretation of law, he explained.

The most recent exclusion from consumer jurisdiction is of disputes relating to telecom/mobile billing. The National Commission judgement relies on the order of the Supreme Court, in “General Manager, Telecom Vs M Krishnan & Another”, in an appeal No.7687 of 2004 filed by the BSNL, wherein it was held that the Indian Telegraph Act was a special law and its provisions would prevail over a general law like the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

“It is a settled law that general law must yield to special law,” observed the bench and noted that there was a remedy prescribed under Section 7B of the telegraph Act for resolution of all disputes regarding telecom through arbitration. The bench said since there was a specific remedy prescribed, it would oust the jurisdiction of consumer courts.

“In spite of the downfall in the total number of complaints, there is a noticeable increase in the complaint cases relating to the housing sector”, he said, who keeps a close watch on the consumer trends.

An analysis of the figures since the inception of consumer courts in the city shows that the telecom had been the third highest litigation category. Insurance and banking took the first and second spot, respectively. But now with the telecom taking a backseat, housing has emerged as the prime litigation category, pipping even banking to bag the second spot and relegating the latter to the third spot.

Legal aid clinic comes up at PU

Chandigarh, January 21

The Panjab University Department of Laws in collaboration with the State Legal Services Authority has set up a legal aid clinic to help those who cannot afford to hire lawyers.

The clinic was inaugurated by Justice MM Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while Justice Jasbir Singh, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, and executive chairman, State Legal Services Authority, was the guest of honour.

Para-legal student volunteers, trained by the State Legal Services Authority, will manage the clinic. The volunteers will not only render legal aid to the needy, but will also visit villages and colonies to spread legal awareness among residents.

“The unique clinic will serve twin purpose. On the one hand, residents will be able to avail benefit, while on the other students will get ample practical experience. More than giving legal aid we look forth to make people aware of laws of land and their utilisation,” said GK Chatrath, Dean, laws. 

Immigration fraud

Chandigarh, January 20
Ranjit Kaur, a resident of Moga, alleged that Amardeep Singh, alias Boby, a Sector-21 resident, took Rs 5,35,000 in cash from him to send her abroad (Canada), but he did not do so. A case under Section 420 IPC has been registered.

Immigration fraud

Chandigarh, January 20
Ranjit Kaur, a resident of Moga, alleged that Amardeep Singh, alias Boby, a Sector-21 resident, took Rs 5,35,000 in cash from him to send her abroad (Canada), but he did not do so. A case under Section 420 IPC has been registered.

Advocates’ strike hits work

Chandigarh, January 20
With advocates going on a strike, hundreds of litigants had to face a harrowing time today. Lekh Raj Sharma, chairman, Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, said, “With the Centre’s Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011, the Union government wants to take away the power of Bar Council of India to regulate the legal education sector of the country. Therefore, on the call of the BCI, we have suspended the work,” he added.

Though a majority of litigants were aware of the strike, those who had reached the tricity’s court were shocked to learn about the strike.

Raj Kamal Mehta, a Sector-35 resident, said in the absence of his advocate, the court had deferred the hearing for March.

Similarly, Daya Nand, a resident of Barwala, who had come to the Panchkula court for the hearing of his land dispute with his cousin, said it was unacceptable on the part of lawyers. They should understand the problems of common people as well, he added.