Vadodara: A transporter whose truck was stolen by his own driver has won a seven-year legal battle to recover his insurance claim that was rejected because the driver’s licence had expired.The Vadodara District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd to pay compensation to Tansukhrai Gaur, who had insured a truck and tanker for his transport business with the company.In June 2019, the driver, Harjinder Singh Lakha Singh, took the truck to Jamnagar for loading but did not return the next day. When Gaur tried calling him, the driver’s phone was switched off and the vehicle could not be traced despite being fitted with a tracking system.Lakha Singh was also not found at his residence, following which Gaur lodged a police complaint alleging theft and informed the insurer about the incident. He subsequently filed an insurance claim of Rs 20.05 lakh, after which the company appointed an investigator.Gaur maintained that he had complied with all requirements while appointing the driver and had kept records of his identity documents, driving licence and fitness certificate. However, the insurer did not settle the claim and rejected it nearly two years later.However, the insurer did not settle the claim and rejected it nearly two years later, arguing that Lakha Singh’s driving licence had expired and that allowing him to operate the vehicle amounted to gross negligence on the owner’s part.Gaur then approached the consumer commission in September 2021 challenging the rejection of his claim.“We argued that the theft had nothing to do with the validity of the driver’s licence. The truck was stolen and the complainant was entitled to the insurance claim. The insurer was acting with prejudice and attempting to deny a legitimate claim on one ground or another,” said advocate Akhil Dave, who represented Gaur before the commission.Gaur also contended that he had instructed the driver to renew his licence, but the latter ignored the directions.The insurance company argued that Gaur knowingly allowed a driver with an expired licence to operate the commercial vehicle, which violated the terms of the policy as well as provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.The consumer commission observed that Gaur had exercised due diligence while employing the driver and there was no evidence to show that he knowingly permitted an unlicensed person to drive the vehicle.“The theft occurred due to the dishonest act of the driver, which cannot be said to have nexus with the expiry of the driving licence,” the forum observed, adding that the validity of the licence was not directly germane to the cause of the loss.However, the commission noted that the expired licence constituted a technical breach of policy conditions and deducted 25% of the claim amount.It directed the insurance company to pay Rs 15.41 lakh to Gaur within two months, along with Rs 5,000 for mental anguish and Rs 3,000 towards litigation costs.
