Ghaziabad man gets insured amount for car stolen 22 years ago

Time of India

15-07-2025

Ghaziabad: Two decades after his brand-new car was stolen during a family trip, a Ghaziabad resident is finally on track to receive compensation, though partially, from his insurer.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked Delhi-based National Insurance Company to pay Puneet Agrawal, whose car was stolen in Haridwar in April 2003, Rs 1.4 lakh, nearly 75% of the insured value, along with Rs 5,000 for litigation costs and the mental agony he endured.
Agrawal had purchased the car on March 10, 2003, through ICICI Bank's Jhandewalan branch in Delhi and insured it the same day for Rs 1.9 lakh.
Less than a month later, on April 6, the car was stolen from Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar during a family vacation.
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Agrawal lodged an FIR, notified the insurance company, and informed the bank. By early 2004, he had submitted all required documents, including a final closure report from Haridwar police and an order from the chief judicial magistrate confirming the theft.
But instead of the timely settlement he expected, Agrawal faced a prolonged legal battle.
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When the insurance company rejected his claim, arguing he had failed to secure the vehicle properly, Agrawal took the matter to the Ghaziabad DCDRC. However, the commission initially dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, prompting him to file an appeal with the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) in Lucknow in 2011.
The SCDRC ruled earlier this year—on Feb 3, 2025—that the Ghaziabad DCDRC was the appropriate forum to hear the case.
In its final ruling on July 9, the DCDRC bench, comprising president Praveen Kumar Jain and members RP Singh and Shailja Sachan, ruled in favour of Agrawal.
The insurance company had argued that Agrawal had failed to take "adequate precautions" to protect his car and therefore his claim was not valid. But the commission cited the 2008 Supreme Court judgment in National Insurance Company Ltd vs Nitin Khandelwal case, which established that even in such cases, claims must be settled on a "non-standard" basis.
Rejecting the insurer's blanket denial as a deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, the commission directed the company to pay 75% of the insured amount, or Rs 1.4 lakh. The commission also clarified that the financing bank would have the first claim on the money if any loan amount was still outstanding, with the remainder to be disbursed to Agrawal.
"It has taken 22 years and numerous legal hurdles, but I'm finally seeing closure," Agrawal told reporters.