SC stays Bombay HC order asking insurance coverage agency to compensate farmers for crop loss below PMFB

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed a Bombay High Court order which had requested Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd. to compensate over 3.5 lakh farmers below the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for lack of soya bean crop attributable to heavy rainfall in 2020.

However, a Supreme Court trip bench comprising justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli requested the insurance coverage firm to deposit Rs 200 crore with its registry inside a interval of six weeks from June 16.

In a significant aid to soya bean farmers of Osmanabad district of Maharashtra who had suffered crop loss attributable to heavy rainfall within the Kharif season of 2020, the Bombay High Court circuit bench in Aurangabad just lately directed the insurance coverage firm to compensate them.

The insurance coverage agency was represented within the Supreme Court by senior advocate Vivek Tankha and different legal professionals together with Tanvi Dubey.

While issuing discover on the enchantment of the insurance coverage agency, the SC bench, on June 16, mentioned, “In the meantime, there will be a stay of operation of the impugned judgment subject to the petitioner depositing an amount of Rs 200 crore with the Registry of this Court within a period of six weeks from today, as requested. The amount deposited shall be invested in an interest bearing fixed deposit in a nationalised bank until further orders.”

In the occasion the quantity is just not deposited inside six weeks, the order of keep shall stand routinely vacated with out additional reference to the courtroom, it ordered. The bench directed the petitioner farmers and the state authorities to file their replies inside six weeks.

The excessive courtroom, whereas directing the insurance coverage agency to compensate the farmers, had mentioned that if the corporate did not pay then the state authorities ought to compensate the farmers for the crop loss. “If the amount is not paid by the insurance company… the state government is directed to pay such claim for compensation for post-harvest loss caused to the soybean crop in Kharif season 2020 to remaining 3,57,287 agriculturists of Osmanabad district within a period of six weeks thereafter,” the excessive courtroom had mentioned.

The excessive courtroom order had come on a batch of petitions of the farmers difficult the refusal of their insurance coverage protection for his or her post-harvesting losses. The farmers had submitted that that they had paid premiums for insurance coverage protection of their crops.

The excessive courtroom was additionally knowledgeable that the insurance coverage firm acquired over Rs 500 crore as premium below the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from farmers in Osmanabad.