‘Dead' man checks credit score, kills 26L claim

Time of India

24-05-2025

Ahmedabad: He was declared dead, mourned by family, and even cremated — or so everyone thought. But months later, the man believed to be deceased was quietly visiting hospitals and checking his credit score, leaving a trail that exposed a web of deceit.
What began as a routine insurance claim has spiralled into a case that can put Hollywood scriptwriters to shame. In a shocking twist, a Rs 25.96 lakh insurance payout was denied after a private insurer produced evidence suggesting the 'dead' man was very much alive, dismantling a widow's claim and prompting the state consumer commission to intervene.
The Gujarat State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission set aside a lower court order, directing an insurance company to pay Rs 25.96 lakh to the widow.
The intriguing case unfolded in Gandhidham, where Sakshi (name changed) claimed that her husband Shamsher Singh (name changed), a transporter with 19 vehicles and life insurance coverage worth Rs 3.11 crore, had died in Feb 2020 at his native village in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. A finance company was the master policyholder while Sakshi was named the nominee.
She filed a claim under one of the policies, but the private insurer rejected it in Jan 2021.
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The private insurer rejected her claim in Jan 2021, and she approached the Kutch District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which ruled in her favour and ordered payment on Feb 14, 2024.
However, the insurer's appeal to the state commission flipped the script. Alleging that Singh died under unclear circumstances, the insurer appointed investigators in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to look into the matter. Their investigators found Singh had visited the OPD at Sanjay Gandhi PGIMS General Hospital four times between Feb 2020 and Jan 2021 and checked his CIBIL score at multiple banks three times after Feb 20, 2020 — all after his reported death.
The insurer supplied documents to substantiate the claims.
The insurer also submitted that residents of Sultanpur had not seen Singh's body and did not attend his cremation. The sachiv of Bariyaona gram panchayat, who issued the death certificate, said that Singh was cremated in Faizabad — a detail that didn't quite line up.
The insurer also claimed the death certificate was forged.
The state commission noted that the complainant's lawyer appeared once, but did not remain present during hearings. In its order passed recently, the commission stated: "We are of the considered opinion that this complaint involves serious issues of fraud, forgery, cheating, conspiracy etc. as alleged, which are very complicated and complex questions of facts and law and therefore, this complaint cannot be tried in a summary manner and these serious allegations are required to be scrutinised, verified and inquired through detailed evidence and examination and cross-examination of the witnesses.
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The state commission termed the district commission's order "erroneous and unreasonable" and allowed the complainant to approach the appropriate court.