LAW FOR ALL

Fire Accident - Framers Produce was destroyed in cold storage - Insurance Claim - Whether the farmers are consumers under the Act ? ‘the farmers’, had grown Byadgi Chilli Crop during the year 2012­2013. Some of the farmers had some other crops. These farmers had stored their agricultural produce in a cold store run by a partnership firm under the name and style of Sreedevi Cold Storage, hereinafter referred to as ‘the cold store’. These farmers also obtained loans from Canara Bank, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Bank’. The loan was advanced by the Bank to each one of the farmers on security of the agricultural produce stored in the cold store. The cold store was insured with the United India Insurance Company Limited, hereinafter referred to as ‘the insurance company’. A fire took place in the cold store on the night intervening 13.01.2014 and 14.01.2014. The entire building of the cold store and the entire stock of agricultural produce was destroyed. -but the claim of the cold store was repudiated by the insurance company mainly on the ground that the fire was not an accidental fire - Since the claims of the farmers were either rejected or not answered, they filed claim petitions against the cold store, the Bank and the insurance company in which the primary relief claimed was the value of the agricultural produce as on the date of fire and interest thereupon and each of the farmers also claimed damages of Rs.1,00,000/­ per head..- The insurance company resisted the complaint mainly on the ground that the ‘farmers’ were not consumers’ within the meaning of Consumer Protection Act, 1986,- apex court held the fire was an accidental fire and occurred due to a short circuit. These are pure findings of fact which, in our view, cannot be challenged in these proceedings. - The definition of consumer under the Act is very wide and it includes beneficiaries who can take benefit of the insurance availed by the insured. As far as the present case is concerned, under the tripartite agreement entered between the Bank, the cold store and the farmers, the stock of the farmers was hypothecated as security with the Bank and the Bank had insisted that the said stock should be insured with a view to safeguard its interest. We may refer to the penultimate clause of the tripartite agreement which reads as follows:­ “WHEREAS the Third Party has agreed to insure the produce/goods stored in the cold storage to indemnify the produce in case of any casualty or accident by any means to cover the risk and also to cover the loan amount to avoid loss at the cost of the Second Party till the release order or repayment of the loan amount.” The aforesaid clause in unambiguous terms binds the cold store to insure the goods, to indemnify the produce, to cover the risk and cover the loan amount. This insurance policy has to be taken at the cost of the second party which is the farmer. Therefore, there can be no manner of doubt that the farmer is a beneficiary under the policy. The farmer is, therefore, definitely a consumer and we uphold the orders of both the Commissions that the complaint under the Act is maintainable.