STATE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF PAKISTAN (SLIC) vs Mst — 2023 CLD 912 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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STATE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF PAKISTAN (SLIC) VS Mst. Bibi REEMA art. 72 & 78---Proof of contents of documents---Proof of signature and handwriting of person alleged to have signed or written document produced---Scope---Production of documents and their admissibility as well as the proof and probative value carried by such documents are entirely two different things and should never be used or construed interchangeably---For proving veracity of a document, the person who authored it must depose before the court in support of the contents, otherwise such document can merely be taken into consideration for the purpose of showing that such a document was issued but whether the contents of the same are correct or not, such facts cannot go into the evidence unless the author of the document deposes before the court and faces cross-examination---Once a document is produced as a piece of evidence, it has to undergo the crucible of objective scrutiny in terms of art. 78 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984---Mere production of a document neither lends any credence nor confers any probative value to it. Non-medical life insurance---Scope---Non-medical life insurance assumes a no medical test while issuing a policy, as opposed to a traditional policy where medical tests are required and are executed while relying upon the declaration, which the insured makes at the time of making of the contract of insurance. S. 79--- Non-disclosure or misrepresentation--- Scope--- Non-disclosure or wrong declaration of any material information can entitle an insurer to invoke S. 79 of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000, to repudiate the contract of insurance. S. 79---Non-disclosure or misrepresentation---Scope---Insurance contracts belong to that limited category of contracts, which are regarded as ones falling under doctrine of uberrimae fidei i.e., of the utmost good faith and hence any concealment may lead to cancellation thereof. Ss. 118 & 79---Qanun-e-Shahadat (10 of 1984), Arts. 129(g), 72, 78 & 117---Insurance claim---Non-disclosure or misrepresentation---Withholding best evidence---Proof of contents of documents---Post-mortem report, evidentiary value of---Scope---¬¬¬Appellant impugned judgment and decree passed by the Insurance Tribunal whereby the suit of respondent for recovery of life insurance claim was allowed---Appellant in order to obtain benefit of S. 79 of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000 and to repudiate the contract placed reliance on a medical prescription issued by a specialist of mental disease and addiction treatment certificate along with inquiry report of the appellant's official---Validity---Neither inquiry officer of the appellant nor the doctor whose prescription had been presented was produced as witnesses---Prescription appended with the inquiry report was a photocopy and not the original---Probative value of the prescription evaporated in the thin air on the ground that it was a private document, hence, the genuineness of the same was required to be proved in terms of Art. 72 read with Arts. 78 & 117 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984---None of the relatives of the deceased had appeared in support of their statements made before the Inquiry Officer---No effort was made on the part of the appellant to get post mortem of the deceased conducted and in absence of the same, there was no reason to discard the death certificate, which was a public document and to which presumption of truth was attached---Mere fact that the death had occurred within short period of time after the purchase of the policy was not per se a suspicious circumstance to deny the relief to the beneficiary---Since the appellant had denied and lingered the claim of the respondent without any just cause, therefore, High Court awarded an additional cost to the appellant---Appeal was dismissed. art. 129(g)--- Withholding best evidence--- Scope--- an adverse presumption is to be drawn against the party which withholds the best evidence.

STATE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF PAKISTAN (SLIC) vs Mst — 2023 CLD 912 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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