In a striking example of legal perseverance, the Ghaziabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has ordered National Insurance Company to pay ₹1.43 lakh to Puneet Agarwal, whose Alto car was stolen over two decades ago. The commission also imposed ₹5,000 as compensation for mental agony and litigation costs.
The Background
Puneet Agarwal purchased his Alto car on March 10, 2003, financing it through a car loan from ICICI Bank’s Jhandewalan branch in Delhi. He insured the vehicle on the same day for ₹1.9 lakh under a policy from National Insurance Company.
However, tragedy struck on April 6, 2003, when Agarwal’s car was stolen from Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar while he was on vacation with his family. Agarwal promptly filed an FIR and informed both the insurer and the bank. By January 2004, he had submitted all the required documents to National Insurance, expecting his claim to be processed.
Claim Rejection and Legal Battle
To Agarwal’s shock, National Insurance rejected his claim, alleging he had failed to take due care and had parked the car in an unsafe manner. Determined to challenge this, Agarwal wrote multiple letters to the company — including on May 2, 2005, July 24, 2005, July 17, 2006, and April 18, 2006 — but received no reply or payment.
Frustrated, Agarwal approached the Ghaziabad DCDRC. However, his petition was initially dismissed, with the commission stating it lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
A Long Journey to Justice
Refusing to give up, Agarwal took his appeal to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) in Lucknow in 2011. It took more than a decade, but in February 2025, the SCDRC ruled that the Ghaziabad DCDRC did indeed have jurisdiction to decide the case.
In July 2025, the Ghaziabad DCDRC finally ruled in Agarwal’s favor. The commission ordered National Insurance to pay ₹1.43 lakh — 75% of the car’s 2003 insured declared value — along with ₹5,000 for mental harassment and litigation expenses.
Importantly, the order specifies that if National Insurance fails to pay within 45 days, it will attract a 6% annual simple interest penalty on the compensation amount until full payment is made.
