Bengaluru: Four years after Bescom lineman Basavaraj Muthathi (34) was electrocuted while repairing a power line in Tumakuru, his widow and two young daughters have secured relief from the consumer court.The II Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bengaluru urban, has directed New India Assurance Company Ltd to release Rs 10 lakh with 8% interest from March 3, 2022, holding the insurer guilty of deficiency in service for wrongfully denying the family’s claim. The order, delivered on Aug 5, also awarded Rs 10,000 towards mental agony and litigation costs.Basavaraj, a lineman at Venkatapura section office in Pavagada taluk, died on May 11, 2021, after being electrocuted while on duty. He was covered under a group personal accident insurance policy issued by New India Assurance to Bescom, providing a sum assured of Rs 10 lakh per employee.His widow, Rekha, submitted a claim form through Bescom in March 2022, enclosing his death certificate, employment details and a certification from Bescom, confirming her as his lawful wife and guardian of their two daughters.Despite repeated reminders, the insurer did not process the claim. Rekha later issued a legal notice in Aug 2023, but there was still no response. Left without income, she worked as a daily-wage labourer to make ends meet and eventually approached the consumer commission in Dec 2023.New India Assurance, in its defence, admitted issuing the group policy covering 15,361 employees but claimed Basavaraj’s name was not on the insured list submitted by Bescom. It also argued policy conditions were not complied with, that necessary documents were missing, and Bescom should have been made a party to the case.However, the bench, comprising president Vijay Kumar M Pawale and member Anuradha V, found the insurer’s own records contradicted its defence. The company had itself produced a list of insured employees, where Basavaraj was clearly listed at Sl. No. 11696, with his age, employee ID, and a sum insured of Rs 10 lakh. His inclusion dated back to Jan 21, 2021, within the policy period.The commission concluded all required documents had been provided and that no other claimant had come forward. “Though Basavaraj Muthathi’s name is there under the list of insured, the OPs have falsely contended that his name is not in the list,” the order stated.
