Thiruvananthapuram: In a compassionate move, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed an insurance company to take a decision within two months on the claim of the family of a fisherman who went missing at sea a decade ago. The Commission’s chairperson, Justice Alexander Thomas, issued the order, asking the company to decide on the claim submitted by the family.

Biju of Pallithura went missing on November 16, 2014, after venturing into the sea from Vizhinjam coast. The insurance company had rejected the claim despite the family producing a certificate of “man missing” issued by the sub-collector.

The Commission observed that it was unjust on the part of the insurance company to resort to excessive technicalities in such cases. The directive was issued to the divisional manager of United India Insurance Company and the Commissioner of the Kerala Fishermen Welfare Board.

The lawyer representing the insurance company, however, denied the allegations. The company contended 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, Justice Alexander Thomas dismissed the company’s argument. The Commission pointed out 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, but the petitioner—Biju’s mother, Margaret—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, not a private insurance scheme, with the government paying the insurance premium. 

It directed the insurance company to make a decision on the claim at the earliest and resolve the complaint within two months.