The first additional chief metropolitan magistrate has ordered issuance of summons to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) chairman TS Vijayan and seven other top officials in a case of alleged atrocities against SC/ST community.
The magistrate was dealing with a petition filed by Vakiti Sudhakar, chairman, Excellent Insurance Broking Services Ltd, an insurance broking services company who charged the Irdai officials with harassing him with malaise, caste-based prejudices and criminal intentions. The petition was filed last year.
This may be a rare case in the insurance industry wherein a brokership licence has been denied on caste grounds.
However, the company received the renewal licence on January 28, 2016, only through the high court intervention.
The licence is valid for three years up to 2018. The company claims to have spent about R10 lakh as legal fees in addition to renewal fees of about R2.5 lakh. Excellent Insurance was started in 1999 with a shareholder base of 100 individuals with a paid-up capital of R2.5 crore.
When contacted, Irdai officials said that this is a case by a regulated entity against the regulator without elaborating further as the issue is in court and the matter is sub-judice.
FE had reported about the FIR filed by Excellent Insurance last year. Sudhakar had complained that the Irdai officials deliberately planned to harass him and subjected him to atrocious acts. In its petition, the company said that it had two bitter experiences with Irdai for licence renewal in 2012 and 2013. It was brought to the notice of the then chairman, J Harinarayana, who confirmed the wrong doings of Irdai officials. In both the instances, one case was reversed by Irdai and in another, the company could get the upgraded licence through the HC intervention.
The company alleged that during licence renewal in 2012 and upgradation of licence as Composite Broker in 2013, atrocities were perpetrated with intention of delaying/denying licence which was brought to the notice of Irdai chairman Vijayan on May 14, 2013 by fax and on July 15, 2013 by giving a personal representation as well as this harassment attracts penal action under the provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
However, no steps were taken by the authority, Sudhakar said. Later, the company moved the high court on January 28, 2015.
Later, the Saifabad police in Hyderabad had closed the FIR citing lack of evidence. Sudhakar then filed a private complaint against the accused and placed all the relevant material before the court. “After perusing the case, the Magistrate took into cognizance the case and ordered issuance of summons to the eight accused directing them to be present in the court on April 28,” company officials said quoting a court order. The magistrate, prima facie, found material in the case and ordered issuance of summons to the accused.
Excellent Insurance’s clientele include 16 government bodies such as Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), Telangana, 342 corporates and SMEs and individuals including a large number of rural and BPL beneficiaries.
