ICICI Lombard to pay up Rs 50,000 for misleading forum

The complainant alleged that despite repeated requests, the company did not pay the amount (Rs 65,312) to Motorways garage where the vehicle was repaired. Finally, Kumar made the payment himself.

In its reply, ICICI pleaded that the car was insured as a private vehicle but was being plied as a commercial vehicle. The company said upon intimation of the claim, a surveyor was duly deputed for assessing the loss which was fixed at Rs 40,074. But as discrepancies were pointed out by the surveyor in ascertaining the exact loss, the company got the matter investigated by a licensed investigator. The detective found that the vehicle in question was being used as a taxi at the time of accident. Only then, was the complainant’s claim repudiated.

The forum, however, found that the opinion that the vehicle was being used for commercial purposes was based on a statement allegedly given by the complainant himself. Kumar admitted that the investigator had recorded his statement as to how the accident occurred but contended that the first six lines and the last two lines were subsequently added.

In a copy of the statement, the forum also observed that there was an inordinately huge distance between the fifth and sixth line, as compared to the rest of the report. “The line which states that the complainant drives the vehicle as a taxi has been crowded into a small space and the font is also very small. Similarly, the distance in the last two lines is quite small showing that the writer tried to adjust them above the complainant’s signatures. And these are the only lines in the report that state the vehicle was being used as a taxi,” the forum found.

“We are, therefore, of the opinion that if the disputed lines are ignored, there is no evidence to suggest the vehicle was being used as a taxi. The company has tried to introduce false facts by tampering with the document, which was filed before this forum to be considered as evidence,” opined the forum