Husband says wife was forced to take insurance policy for getting loan moves to Delhi High Court

In a shocking revelation by a widower and father of 2 disclosed that his wife took a loan from ICICI bank for purchasing a car but was forced to take an insurance policy from ICICI Lombard so as to get the loan easily. However, the insurance claim was denied after his wife died of cancer. Now, he has moved to the Delhi High Court praying for a declaration that insurance business conducted by banks is illegal and unconstitutional and emphasizing that banking should be done by banking professionals while insurance business should be carried out by insurance professionals for beneficial co-existence of both the institutions and in the best interest of the people. The petitioner Titus Abraham is a resident of East Delhi has now moved to Delhi High Court praying it to “ quash the notification dated August 3, 2000 issued by the Ministry of Finance under Section- 6(1)(o) of the Banking Regulation Act specifying & lsquo insurance as a form of business in which it is lawful for a banking company to engage', and all actions/ orders /circulars notifications issued by the respondents (Centre and the RBI) arising out of it as the same is ultra vires” . Further, in his petition he raised the substantial question of law whether the August 2000 notification is contrary to the mandate of Section- 2C of the Insurance Act and amounts to excessive legislation, as opposed to public policy and will come under Section- 16 of the Indian Contract Act on the ground of “ undue influence” because of the fiduciary relationship existing between a bank and its customer. While narrating his ordeal, Abraham said on December 22, 2015, his wife Merline Titus purchased a car for a total value of Rs. 7.20 lakh and the ICICI Bank insisted the petitioner's wife take Suraksha Insurance for the asked loan. She remitted Rs. 4,32,390 by availing a car loan from ICICI Bank Ltd. The loan was for a time period of 60 months with EMI of Rs. 9187. In addition to this, in October 2016, while selling the policy, ICICI Bank and the insurance company did not even care to inquire about the insured's physical fitness nor demanded any kind of medical certificate. Later when in October 2016, petitioner's wife passed away leaving behind him and their 2 daughters the insurance company rejected his claim on the ground of pre-existing illness. Apart from this, the petitioner said after his wife passed away on 13^th October 2016, while undergoing treatment for cancer, he requested the insurance company and the bank for sanction of the claim but the same was rejected. He even requested the bank to refund Rs. 1.28 lakh paid after the death of his wife, the insurer, but in vain and now he is not in a position to pay EMIs.