R K SHARMA vs ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. THROUGH REGIONAL MANAGER RO 1 AND ORS

Judgment text excerpt

$~52 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI W.P.(C) 3850/2025 Date of Decision: 18.03.2026 IN THE MATTER OF: R K SHARMA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. V.P. Sharma, Advocate. versus ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. THROUGH REGIONAL MANAGER RO 1 AND ORS .....Respondents Through: None. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV JUDGEMENT PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J. (ORAL) 1. The grievance raised by the petitioner is two-fold—first, that no opportunity of hearing was extended before the impugned order dated 31.07.2023 was passed by the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission („NCDRC‟); and second, that the order was passed by a Bench, which was coram non-judice. 2. So far as the submission with respect to the order being passed by a Bench, which was coram non-judice is concerned, this Court in the case of Sita Devi v. Punjab National Bank1 has held as under:- 1 2026:DHC:2001. Signature Not Verified Signature Not Verified Signed By:NEHA CHOPRA Signed Signing Date:24.03.2026 By:PURUSHAINDRA 11:45:34 KUMAR KAURAV “A perusal of the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA, 2019) and the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020 (Regulations, 2020) indicate that as per the statutory scheme, the proceedings of the National Commission may be conducted by Benches comprising of a single-member, who is a judicial member. What follows is that, single-member Benches comprising of a judicial member may hear appeals and pass orders.” Thus, this submission of the petitioner is liable to be rejected. 3. However, the position taken by the petitioner, that it not being granted an opportunity of hearing, remains uncontroverted. There is no material available on record to indicate that the petitioner was granted any opportunity of