HARSOLIA MOTORS Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE only question requiring decision in these appeals is whether insurance policy taken by commercial units could be held to be hiring of services for commercial purpose and thereby excluded from the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Gujarat State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission arrived at the conclusion that Complainants have availed of the service of the Insurance Company for commercial purpose and, therefore, dismissed the complaints on the preliminary ground, as not maintainable. Hence, these appeals. Relevant definitions of the words consumer' and 'service':

(2.) FOR deciding this, we would first refer to very wide definitions of words 'consumer' and 'service' under Sections 2(1)(d) and 2(1)(o) which are as under:

(3.) IN support of his submission, learned Counsel Shri Sharma, referred to the judicial dictionary meaning of the words 'commercial purpose' which is as under: The word commercial according to the Oxford Dictionary means viewed as a matter of profit and loss. The word purpose means object which is in view or for which is made: aim amend. The word commercial purposes would, therefore, cover an undertaking the object of which is to make a profit out of the undertakings. (Municipal board, Unnao Vs. The State of U.P. 1957 All. L.J. 469 at 498). According to Oxford dictionary, it means viewed as a matter of profit or loss. The word commercial is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, New Edition of the 1990, at page 227, the word commercial is defined as 'having profit as a primary aim rather than artistic etc. value.' (vide Dena Bank, Ahmednagar Vs. Prakash Birbhan Katariya, AIR 1994 Bom 343 at 345).