The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has issued a directive to the United India Insurance Company to take a decision on the claim of a fisherman’s family within two months. Biju, a fisherman from Pallithura, went missing at sea on November 16, 2014, and his family had submitted a claim to the insurance company despite having a certificate from the sub-collector stating that he was “missing”. The insurance company had initially rejected the claim, citing that the family had reported the matter only three years after Biju went missing and the claim was submitted nine years later, making it ineligible.
However, the Human Rights Commission, led by Justice Alexander Thomas, rejected the insurance company’s argument, stating that according to Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act, a person can be presumed dead only after seven years of being reported missing. The seven-year period ended in 2021, and the petitioner, Biju’s mother, had approached the insurance company as early as 2019.
The Commission also noted that the insurance scheme was part of the government’s special insurance project under the Fishermen Welfare Fund Board, where the government pays the insurance premium. Therefore, the Commission directed the insurance company to resolve the complaint within two months and make a decision on the claim at the earliest. The Commission emphasized that it was unjust for the insurance company to resort to excessive technicalities in such cases and that the family deserved justice and compensation.