C.W.P. No.20129 of 2011 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No.20129 of 2011 Date of Decision.01.11.2011 Oriental Insurance Company Limited .....Petitioner Versus Mani Jain wife of Sh. Uttam Chand Jain and another .....Respondents Present: Mr. Ashwani Talwar, Advocate for the petitioner. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? No 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? No -.- K. KANNAN J.(ORAL) 1. The writ petition challenges the award passed by the Permanent Lok Adalat upholding the claim of the insured under a medi- claim policy. He had been operated for a knee transplant for degeneration of Osteoarthritis. The contention of the insurance company was that it ought to have been a gradual process and there had been a willful suppression of the previous illness at the time of taking the policy. The Permanent Lok Adalat found that the insured had been periodically renewing the policy for more than 4 years and there was nothing to suggest that at the time of renewal of the policy, he had any specific ailment. There cannot be a rule of thumb that Osteoarthritis always ought to have a history of 4 years before it gets to be on an operable stage. At least no medical evidence had been adduced to support the plea of the insurance company that such ailment, which the insured had, could not have erupted suddenly and that it ought to have C.W.P. No.20129 of 2011 -2- been a gradual process. I do not think there is a case made out for reappraisal of the matter that has stood concluded by the award of the Permanent Lok Adalat. 2. The writ petition is dismissed. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE November 01, 2011 Pankaj*