“Settle dispute within three months” — the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled on August 28, 1996, while directing three insurance companies to pay pending bills to a local resident who had worked for them as a surveyor/loss assessor. Over a decade later, K N Sethi, now 74, is ready for a final litigation bout against the insurance companies as he is yet to recover a share of his hard-earned money.

Even as Sethi has received over Rs 7 lakh of Rs 8 lakh he had claimed, the price he has had to pay has been enormous — lakhs of rupees have been spent as litigation costs by a man whose financial resources are fast depleting.

Taking strong note of the issue, Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg has directed the chairman-cum-managing director of National Insurance Company to be present in Court on the next date of hearing scheduled to be held on Friday.

On April 22, the Court had directed the chairmen of two insurance companies, including United India Insurance Company, to appear in Court. Taking strong exception of the non-compliance, the Court last week rejected their application seeking exemption from appearance.

“It has not been shown by the officers that they could not come because of their pre-occupation somewhere else. Prayer for exemption is rejected,” Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg had ruled.

It was in 1996 when Sethi, a resident of Sector 28-D, Chandigarh, who runs an agency under the name of M/s K N Sethi, had moved the High Court seeking directions to the insurance companies to release payments of various survey pay bills submitted by him.

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