Insurance Law - Health insurance policy - Renewal - Reimbursement of medical expenses - Non-disclosure of pre-existing condition - Claim for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by the appellant for his wife's ovarian cancer treatment - Insurance company repudiated the claim on the grounds of non-disclosure of pre-existing rheumatic heart disease - District Forum directed reimbursement and renewal of the policy - State Commission upheld the order - National Commission set aside the direction for policy renewal while upholding the reimbursement - Whether renewal of policy can be refused based on non-disclosure of pre-existing condition - Held, once the insurance company accepted the claim for expenses incurred during the valid policy period, it cannot refuse renewal based on non-disclosure - Renewal of policy from the date of expiry directed - Appellant entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred. (Para 26, 27, 29)

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority guidelines - Renewal of health insurance policies - Refusal of renewal - Fraud, moral hazard, or misrepresentation - Non-disclosure of pre-existing condition - Insurance company relied on IRDA guidelines to refuse renewal based on non-disclosure of pre-existing rheumatic heart disease - Held, the guidelines cannot be used to refuse renewal after accepting the claim for expenses incurred during the valid policy period - Refusal to renew policy based on non-disclosure not justified. (Para 25, 26)

Precedent - Distinction - Previous court orders relied upon by insurance company - Concealment of pre-existing condition - Different illnesses - Held, distinction in this case as the claim for expenses incurred was already accepted by the insurance company and repudiation set aside - Insurance company cannot raise the same defense to deny renewal. (Para 28)

Headnotes:

Relationship of employer and employee - Proof required for claiming compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 (1923 Act) - Failure to establish master and servant relationship - Claim for compensation dismissed. (Para 12 and 14)

Delay in filing application - Knowledge of alternative option to claim compensation - Delay of 9 years - Fatal to consideration of claim - Condonation of delay denied. (Para 15)

Intent of claimants - Failure to claim compensation against vehicle owner in earlier proceedings - Intention to claim compensation from offending vehicle - No sufficient cause for delay. (Para 13)

Competence of a Child Witness (Para 7) – Under Section 118 of the Evidence Act, a child witness is competent to depose unless the court finds that the child is incapable of understanding questions or giving rational answers due to tender age – The court must ascertain the child’s ability to understand questions and the duty to speak the truth.

Corroboration of Child Witness (Para 8) – Corroboration of a child witness’s testimony is not a rule but a measure of caution – The court must scrutinize the evidence of a child witness carefully, considering the possibility of tutoring – The judge’s preliminary examination of the child witness is crucial to ensure competence.

Inadequate Preliminary Examination (Para 9) – Preliminary examination of the child witness in this case found to be inadequate – Judge asked only a few questions – Judge must assess the child’s ability to understand questions, give rational answers, and comprehend the duty to speak the truth.

Non-Examination of Crucial Witnesses (Para 14) – Prosecution’s failure to examine crucial witnesses, such as the milkman to whom the child witness disclosed the incident, raised doubts about the witness’s credibility – Absence of such witnesses leads to adverse inferences against the prosecution.

Unreliable Testimony and Lack of Corroboration (Para 16) – Scrutinizing the evidence revealed contradictions and improvements in the child witness’s statements, rendering his testimony unreliable – Lack of corroboration further diminished confidence in the witness’s account – Deficiencies in the prosecution’s case added to the doubts.

Acquittal  (Para 17) – Considering the unreliability of the child witness’s testimony and deficiencies in the prosecution’s case, the appeal was allowed, and the appellant acquitted of all charges.

Recruitment process - Equivalence of qualifications - Diploma in Art & Craft from Kurukshetra University and Diploma in Art & Craft from Haryana Industrial Training Department - Review petitions filed challenging the finding of non-equivalence of qualifications - Government of Haryana willing to accept Diploma from Kurukshetra University as an equivalent qualification - Kurukshetra University certifying equivalence of courses - Supreme Court allows review petitions. [Para 10, Para 11]

Government's decision - Conversion of posts - Government converts 178 posts of TGT Art to the post of Art & Craft Teacher (Diminishing Cadre) to accommodate candidates with Diplomas from Kurukshetra University who were included in the selection list. [Para 11]

Appointments - Merit ranking - Appointments to be made against notified vacant posts - Merit ranking from the selection list to be strictly followed - Appointments not to affect previous appointees or their seniority. Timelines - Completion of process - Authorities directed to complete the process within two months from the date of the judgment. [Para 12]

Raw Petroleum Coke (RPC) - Import and Allocation - Concerns raised by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) regarding the highly polluting nature of calcined petroleum coke (CPC) - EPCA recommends allowing import of pet coke for use as feedstock, not as fuel - Exemptions given to industries should not negate efforts to control pet coke usage to prevent pollution caused by fugitive emissions - EPCA's recommendations for the calciner industry - EPCA's report and guidelines for regulation and monitoring of imported pet coke - Consent to Operate (CTO) issued by Pollution Control Boards specifying import quantities and usage conditions - Prohibition on import of pet coke for trading purposes - Only registered industrial units with valid consent allowed to directly import pet coke for own use - Import capacity estimation based on figures provided by the industry. (Para 19)

Capacity Estimation and Consent to Operate (CTO) - CTO issued by Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) recording total capacity of the unit - Capacity mentioned in the CTO as the basis for import allocation - Appellant's claim of increased capacity after court's order - Documents and reports submitted by appellant to support increased capacity claim - Court rejecting appellant's claim for clarification - APPCB's certification of installed capacity as of a specific date - Government's consistent position that capacity added after court's order would not be considered for allocation - Public notice specifying requirement of State Pollution Control Board certificate indicating unit's capacity as of a specific date. (Para 20-26)

Interpretation of Public Notice - Distinction between certificate and consent to operate - No change in allocation method through the public notice - Emphasis on CTO as the material document considered previously - APPCB's clarification of installed capacity as of a specific date not changing the allocation criteria - Court's acceptance of Division Bench's reasoning - Clearance from the court required for any increase in capacity to be considered for allocation. (Para 27-29)

Criminal Law – Sentencing – Proportionality – Uniform Sentencing Standard – Disparity in Sentences – Conviction for causing fatal injuries – Conversion of conviction from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part II IPC – Appropriateness of sentences undergone by accused persons – Role of each accused practically indistinguishable – Principle of proportionality guiding sentencing process – Previous judgments emphasizing appropriate and proportionate punishments based on the nature of the offense, circumstances of its commission, and relevant factors – Gravity of the offense to be considered in sentencing – Sentences imposed by High Court exhibiting wide disparity and lack of rationale – Sentencing found to be flawed and arbitrary – Appropriate sentence to be five years rigorous imprisonment – Sentences of accused already serving longer than five years left undisturbed – Remaining accused sentenced to undergo five years rigorous imprisonment.

Decision: The appeals are partly allowed. Sentences of some accused modified, and sentences of others upheld. Appropriate sentence for remaining accused is five years rigorous imprisonment. Principle of proportionality should guide the sentencing process.

Insurance Law - Compensation assessment for permanent disability - Functional disability of appellant due to amputation of right lower limb - Loss of earning capacity - Assessment of compensation based on nature of work performed - Appellant working as a gunman - Unable to discharge duties after amputation - Services terminated - Tribunal assessed loss of earning capacity at 100% - High Court reduced it to 80% - held that loss of earning capacity should be assessed at 100% considering appellant's functional disability - High Court erred in relying on judgment without considering available Supreme Court precedent - Compensation recalculated - Error in High Court's calculation of compensation amount - Appeal allowed, High Court's order set aside, and Tribunal's award restored. (Para No. 8, 9, 10, and 11)

Industrial Dispute - Retrenchment of casual workers - Validity - Reinstatement and regularization - Compensation - Back wages - Award passed by the Tribunal directing reinstatement, regularization, and payment of 75% of back wages to the workers - Management filed a writ petition challenging the Award - High Court dismissed the writ petition, upholding the Award - Division Bench modified the Award by quashing the direction for regularization - Appeals filed by the workers and the management - Supreme Court held that the management cannot raise the issue of reinstatement and back wages since they did not challenge it before the Division Bench - Court considered the conduct of the management in voluntarily implementing the Award and absorbing the workers in regular service - Court held that the management cannot seek to overturn the Award after benefiting from it for over 18 years - Appeal filed by the workers allowed, restoring the Tribunal's Award and the High Court's order - Appeal filed by the management dismissed. (Para 1-17)

Approbate and Reprobate - Principle of - Election - Fair play - A party cannot accept and reject the same thing - Once a party chooses to implement an order voluntarily, it cannot later seek to challenge it - Management of FCI implemented the Award voluntarily and absorbed the workers in regular service - Management cannot now seek to overturn the Award after benefiting from it for over 18 years - Principle of approbate and reprobate applies. (Para 14)

Regularization of Services - Industrial Dispute - Validity - Court's duty to rectify mistakes - Once the Court concludes that a wrong order was passed, it has a sovereign duty to rectify the mistake - Division Bench modified the Award by quashing the direction for regularization - Court held that the Division Bench should have considered the management's voluntary implementation of the Award and the workers' 18 years of regular service - Court held that the factual position should not be altered after two decades - Court allowed the workers' appeal, restoring the Tribunal's Award and the High Court's order. (Para 15-16)

Criminal Law – Anticipatory Bail – Conditions for Grant – Imposition of onerous and excessive conditions for anticipatory bail – Trend of transforming judicial proceedings for recovery of allegedly cheated money – Reminder to high courts and sessions courts not to be unduly swayed by submissions of the accused’s counsel regarding depositing or repaying any amount as a prerequisite for bail – Importance of balancing personal liberty and the right to fair investigation – Conditions imposed must be reasonable, just, and not excessive – Need to avoid using criminal law to settle civil disputes or recover disputed dues – Dismissal of application for intervention by complainants.

Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 21 – Personal liberty – Denial of bail amounts to deprivation of personal liberty – Bail provisions should not be subjected to unnecessary restrictions – Conditions imposed must be fair, just, and reasonable – Bail cannot be made to depend on compliance with unreasonable restrictions.

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 438 – Anticipatory bail – Discretion of court in imposing conditions – Conditions must not be onerous or unreasonable – Must facilitate accused’s appearance, completion of investigation/trial, and safety of the community – Exceptional cases where payment/deposit by accused may be considered in larger public interest, but not warranted in cases of private disputes – Condition of payment of money should not be pressed into service to secure bail.