Court dismisses plea alleging threats calls from ICICI

A woman's plea dismissed against associate VP

PTI | February 13, 2012



In a relief to ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, a Delhi court has dismissed a woman's plea accusing one of its top officials of calling her up and threatening her to withdraw her complaint against the firm from a consumer forum.

Civil Judge Swati Katiyar dismissed north Delhi resident Satinder Kaur's plea against the insurance firm's associate vice president, saying she failed to back it up with any evidence.

"Apart from oral allegations levelled by the plaintiff, there is no evidence whatsoever on record to prove the same.

Accordingly, the plaintiff has failed to discharge the onus placed upon her. Resultantly, the issues are decided against the plaintiff," the court said

The woman had moved the court alleging that the firm's top executive's call caused immense harassment and "mental agony" to her and sought compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the firm for causing the "serious shock" to her.

Satinder had said she was a "semi illiterate" housewife and had been induced by an employee of ICICI's insurance arm to invest in its pension scheme and that she had paid Rs 1.2 lakh for it in two instalments by March 2003.

She had contended that she was told by the ICICI official that she could withdraw her money whenever she wished to terminate the policy and that she would still be given a minimum interest of 8 per cent per annum but in 2006, when she wished to withdraw her money, Rs 4,566 was deducted from the amount she had invested.

She had claimed that after she filed a complaint before a Delhi District Consumer Redressal Forum, the then associate vice president of the company advanced threats to her thrice between October 2006 and March 2007, through phone calls, asking her to "withdraw the complaint or else to face dire consequences".

The woman had sought Rs two lakhs as compensation, claiming that she "had to go through sleepless nights which had adversely affected her health" and a huge amount had to be spent on her treatment.

The ICICI, however, had refuted her claims, saying she had filed the suit only to harm the company's reputation and that any threatening phone calls were made to her by any of its employees.

The judge dismissed the suit holding that Satinder Kaur had failed to prove her claims and that she also did not specify the basis on which the damages were assessed as Rs two lakhs.

 

Comments

 

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter