IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.48 of 2005 ----------- Alka Devi, wife of late Raj Kumar, resident of Bakhtiarpur, P.S. Bakhtiarpur Town, District Patna, presently residing at C/o Shri Ganesh Prasad, resident of Mohalla Saidpura, Khagaul, P.S. Khagaul, District Patna. ….. Petitioner -versus- 1. Life Insurance Corporation of India through its Divisional Manager, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Divisional Office, Frazier Road, Patna-1. 2. The Divisional Manager, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Divisional Office, Frazer Road, Patna. 3. Manager (Claims), Life Insurance Corporation of India, Divisional Office, Frazer Road, Patna-1. 4. Kush Kumar, son of Shri Ramchandra Prasad Azad, resident of Bakhtiarpur Town, District Patna. …. Respondents 5. Ram Chandra Prasad, son of late Munshi Lal, resident of Bkhtiarpur, P.S. Bakhtiarpur , District Patna. … Intervenor ------ For the Petitioner : Mr. Bibhakar Tiwari, Advocate. For the Respondents : M/s Umesh Prasad Singh, Sr. Advocate & Anjani Kumar Singh, Advocate. For the Intervenor : Mr. Manager Sah, Advocate. ------ 06/ 04.01.2011 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned counsel for the Life Insurance Corporation and its authorities (respondents no.1 to 3) and learned counsel for the intervenor. No one appears on behalf of respondent no.4 although notices sent to him were accepted as validly served. 2. I.A. No. 5800 of 2010 has been filed on behalf of one Ram Chandra Prasad, who wants to be impleaded as a party to this writ petition claiming to be the father of the deceased and father-in-law of the petitioner. The said fact is admitted and, accordingly, the interlocutory application is allowed and the said intervenor is directed to be added as respondent no.5. 3. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner for a direction to respondent-Life Insurance Corporation and its authorities to discharge Life Insurance Policy No. 511757289 of Raj Kumar in favour of his widow, namely, the petitioner and make payment of amount payable under the said policy to her and not to discharge the life insurance policy in question of late Raj Kumar in favour of the nominee i.e. his brother Kush Kumar (respondent no.4) in the changed circumstances of the case and for other ancillary reliefs. 4. The fact of the case is that the policy holder was one Raj Kumar and the said insurance policy was taken before his marriage with the petitioner and hence respondent no.4, who happened to be the brother of late Raj Kumar was named as nominee. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that she is the widow of aforesaid policy holder Raj Kumar and has to maintain her two minor children and is living in poverty. The nominee Kush Kumar (respondent no.4) is not the heir of the policy holder Raj Kumar and is the full brother of Lav Kumar, who murdered the said policy holder Raj Kumar, as a result of which Bakhtiarpur P.S. Case No. 32 of 2003 has been instituted against him and other accused persons, in which charge-sheet had been submitted by the Police showing said Lav Kumar and his son as absconders, whereas, the proceeding is going on against the other co-accused Khurkhur Singh. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner further claims that under the aforesaid circumstances the petitioner apprehends that if the amount payable under the said policy is given to the nominee, the petitioner being a poor widow will not be able to recover the same from the said nominee and hence the Life Insurance Corporation must hand over the amount payable under the said policy to the petitioner. 7. From the facts and circumstances of the case, it is quite apparent that the Life Insurance Corporation has not rejected the claim of the petitioner rather it had asked her to produce the papers of the criminal case including the first information report, charge-sheet, final form etc. for determination of the issues involved and only then it can pass any appropriate order on that issues. 8. In this regard, the settled principle of law is that the Life Insurance Corporation is bound to pay the amount payable under the policy to the nominee unless the claimant produces an order from the competent court. 9. In the said circumstances, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to file an application before the Divisional Manager, Life Insurance Corporation, Patna Division (respondent no.2) along with the aforesaid papers of the criminal case within thirty days from today along with a copy of this order. If the said application and papers are filed the said authority shall determine the issues involved expeditiously, preferably within a period of three months from the date of receipt/ production of a copy of this order. After the order of the said authority, the petitioner shall immediately file a succession case or a title suit for being declared to be entitled to receive the amount payable under the said policy from the Life Insurance Corporation and if such an order is passed the petitioner must produce it before the authorities of the Life Insurance Corporation for payment of the amount payable under the said policy. Till then the Life Insurance Corporation shall not pay any amount with respect to the said policy to the said nominee or any other person claiming under the said policy. MPS/ ( S. N. Hussain, J.)