An old case of former Indian fast bowler Sreesanth is in the headlines again, and this time Rajasthan Royals is in the dock of the Supreme Court.
What is the whole matter?
It is from 2012, when Sreesanth suffered a knee injury during a practice match in Jaipur.
This injury ruled him out of the entire IPL season. Rajasthan Royals had insured their players for more than Rs 8.7 crore, and after Sreesanth’s injury, they made a claim of Rs 82 lakh.
They said that due to the injury, Sreesanth could not play that year.
But the insurance company, United India Insurance, rejected this claim. They said that Sreesanth had a toe injury since 2011, which was not mentioned while taking the insurance policy.
The company claims, “This pre-existing toe injury could have affected his availability, making Royals’ claim invalid.”
The matter reached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), where the decision came in favor of Royals and the insurance company was ordered to pay Rs 82 lakh.
But the insurance company was not going to agree!
They appealed to the Supreme Court.
In the court, the Royals’ lawyer said, “The toe injury did not stop him from playing. He was playing! It was during the practice session that he had a knee injury!”
He also told that Sreesanth’s fitness certificate was submitted at the time of taking the insurance, and the next certificate came after the knee injury.
On the other hand, the insurance company’s lawyer Aishwarya Bhati said,
“The impugned order dealt with the issue from the angle of Sreesanth’s pre-existing toe injury, which had no connection with the knee injury.”
The Supreme Court bench, Justice Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked if the information about the leg injury was given earlier.
They said, “If the insurance company knew about the injury, they might have denied coverage or charged a higher premium.”
Now the court has asked the insurance company to submit Sreesanth’s fitness certificate and the original policy application.
At present, this old dispute is not getting resolved. This battle between Rajasthan Royals and the insurance company will continue, and cricket fans are keeping an eye on the next decision of the Supreme Court.
