COURTS

Insurance co told to pay medical bill
Our Correspondent

Noida, May 4
The District Consumer Forum has ordered Oriental Insurance Company to pay the medical treatment bills of an insured person. The consumer court, comprising Chairman Kartar Singh and members S. C. Sharma and Ms Vijay Laxmi Sharma, delivered the verdict on a complaint filed by Mr Praveen Trikha, resident of G-22 in Sector 25, Noida.

The complainant had taken a medical insurance policy on April 23, 1999 which was issued after specialist doctors on the company’s panel had declared him suitable and eligible for it. But Mr Trikha was admitted to a Noida hospital from May 30 to June 3 in 1999 where he had to spend Rs 51,555 for the treatment of his entangled intestines. He submitted all bills with relevant papers from the hospital to the insurance company but his claim was not accepted.

On November 15, 1999 the insurance company sent him a letter claiming that their medical panel was of the view that he had got the disease before getting the insurance policy. On this, the complainant filed a petition before the consumer court.

The court, after hearing both the parties, directed the insurance company to make the payment along with 12 per cent interest from November 15 to the date of payment along with Rs 1,500 as expenses of the suit. The forum also ruled that in case the company did not make the payment within 30 days, the claimant would be entitled to an interest at the rate of 15 per cent from November 15, 1999 till the date the payment.

In another case, the forum also directed the All India Engineers to replace the compressor of a fridge bought by Chaudhari Rajinder Singh of Nithari, Sector 31. The compressor had become defective during the guarantee period and the company was dilly-dallying in accepting its responsibility.

Okhla councillor gets interim bail
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4
A Delhi court today granted 10 days’ interim bail to Municipal Corporation of Delhi councillor from Okhla ward Asif Mohammad Khan who is charged with sedition, disturbing public tranquility and defacement of public property.

Additional Sessions Judge C. K. Chaturvedi granted the interim bail after Mr Khan made a submission that he had to file details of his assets within a month from the day of his oath. He told the court that this was a time-consuming process and the deadline would expire on May 9. The judge asked him to surrender before the court on May 14.

On Thursday, the court had framed charges of defacement of properties against Mr Khan under the West Bengal Prevention of Defacement of Property Act as it was alleged that he had pasted posters favouring Osama bin Laden after the September 11 terrorist attack.

The judge also charged him with sedition and creating communal disharmony and hatred under Sections 124-A and 153 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“By pasting the posters, you attempted to incite contempt, hatred and disaffection towards the government and also to promote a feeling of enmity between Islam and Christianity which is likely to disturb public tranquility,” the judge said.

The police arrested him on September 28 last year after it was found that he had pasted the controversial posters of Bin Laden on walls and public buses publicly in the Okhla area.