Today, On 18th November, The Delhi High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought the release of policy documents for the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY). The petition argued that the government should provide such documents to policyholders. However, the court found no merit in the petition and chose to reject it. This decision upholds the existing practices surrounding the distribution of policy information under the scheme.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that aimed to compel the Centre and relevant authorities to provide policy documents to all policyholders of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), as required by Regulation 8(1) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Protection of Policyholders’ Interests) Regulations, 2017.
The bench, comprised of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, rejected the petition, pointing out that the claim that two-thirds of policyholders were missing out on benefits was based on assumptions rather than factual evidence.
The Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, was not convinced by the arguments presented.
The Court remarked during the hearing,
“The PIL is founded on assumptions that family members are unaware and that no policy documents have been provided. To put it mildly, the petitioner is daydreaming,”
The Court emphasized that insurance policies are private contracts and that it is inappropriate to address issues stemming from such contracts through a PIL.
The Court stated before dismissing the petition,
“You cannot act as a guardian in rem. There are significant concerns… You are pursuing this through a PIL, which is a risky path. It could potentially lead to scams,”
The judges also warned that the petition might lead to unintended fraudulent claims.
The petitioner, activist Aakash Goel, challenged the alleged inaction of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner from the Ministry of Home Affairs for not sharing the national death database with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
Goel argued that this lack of coordination hinders family members or nominees of deceased PMJJBY policyholders from directly receiving the Rs. 2,00,000 insurance benefit.
The petition further requested directives to ensure that all nominees or family members of deceased policyholders since 2015 receive their entitled compensation under PMJJBY. It also highlighted the necessity for effective implementation of the revised PMJJBY rules that took effect on June 1, 2022.
Additionally, the plea sought directions for the DFS to acquire details of all deceased individuals from state databases since the PMJJBY’s launch, ensuring timely compensation for the nominees or family members of deceased policyholders.
The PIL filed by Advocate Amit Sahni.