Hyderabad: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Nalgonda has held postal authorities guilty of deficiency in service in handling the premium of a Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) subscriber and directed them to compensate the nominee and bear litigation costs.The order, issued on July 31, 2026, followed a complaint by Moloth Suresh, son and nominee of deceased insured Moloth Lala, against the post master, Grade-I, Choutapally, the manager, POSB Bank, Huzurnagar, and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).Lala had enrolled in PMJJBY through the post office. After his death on June 15, 2024, Suresh’s insurance claim was rejected by LIC, which said the full renewal premium for 2024-25 had not been received and the insurance risk had therefore not commenced.The postal authorities said the premium was auto-debited from Lala’s account on June 1, 2024, and remitted to LIC through SBI on June 6, before his death. They maintained that LIC alone was responsible for rejecting the claim.LIC told the commission that it had rejected the claim due to the premium shortfall and had repeatedly alerted postal authorities about discrepancies in remittances. During the proceedings, however, LIC informed the commission that it had settled the insurance claim in March 2026.The commission held that Lala had fulfilled his obligation by ensuring the premium was debited from his account. However, the postal authorities failed to prove that his specific premium was included in the consolidated remittance to LIC or that reported shortfalls were reconciled.Finding deficiency in service, the commission directed the post master and POSB manager to jointly pay Rs 25,000 for mental agony and hardship and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.The complaint against LIC was dismissed. Payment must be made within 45 days, failing which the amount will attract 12% annual interest until realisation.
