Delhi HC dismisses PIL seeking policy documents for PMJJBY policyholders

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought directions to the Centre and concerned authorities to provide policy documents to all policyholders of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), in compliance with Regulation 8(1) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Protection of Policyholders' Interests) Regulations, 2017.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, rejected the plea, noting that claims of two-thirds of policyholders missing out on benefits were based on assumptions, not factual data. The judges also cautioned that the petition could result in unintended fraudulent claims.

Activist Aakash Goel, who filed the petition, had challenged the alleged inaction of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, for failing to share the nationwide death database with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Goel through the plea stated that this lack of coordination prevents the family members or nominees of deceased PMJJBY policyholders from directly receiving the Rs. 2,00,000 insurance claim.

The petition also sought directives to ensure that the nominees or family members of all deceased policyholders since 2015 receive the compensation due under PMJJBY, and emphasised the need for the effective implementation of revised PMJJBY rules that came into effect on June 1, 2022.

The plea also sought directions to the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to obtain details of all deceased individuals from state databases since the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and ensure that the nominees or family members of deceased policyholders receive compensation under the policy in a timely manner.