Mohali, June 8 -- A consumer commission has awarded a Rs.4-lakh compensation to a Chandigarh resident whose insurance claim for damage to the sunroof of his luxury car, allegedly caused by a flower pot falling on the parked vehicle, was rejected by the insurer on grounds of misrepresentation. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mohali, directed Universal Sompo General Insurance Company to pay the compensation after finding deficiency in service in the repudiation of the claim filed by Anoop Singh Garwal, a resident of Manimajra, Chandigarh. According to the complaint, Garwal's Mercedes-Benz suffered damage on May 25, 2023, when a flower pot fell on the vehicle's sunroof while it was parked outside his residence. He lodged an insurance claim the next day and got the vehicle assessed at IJM Punjab Motors in Mohali. However, the insurer repudiated the claim on July 5, 2023, alleging that the damage did not match the reported cause of loss. The company argued that photographs suggested pieces of a flower pot and soil had been placed on the vehicle to support a false claim. It also relied on service history records from 2019 and 2022 relating to the sunroof. During the proceedings, the commission examined records placed on file, including a clarification from IJM Punjab Motors stating that the earlier service-related issues concerning the sunroof had already been rectified and did not require replacement of the sunroof glass. The commission held that those past service entries alone could not justify rejection of the claim. The commission, comprising president SK Aggrawal and members Paramjeet Kaur and Lt Col JS Bath, also noted that the insurer's own survey report had assessed the loss at Rs.6.47 lakh, indicating that the damage had been evaluated. At the same time, it observed that the complainant had not produced repair bills to establish the exact expenditure incurred on repairs. Holding that the repudiation was not fully justified, the commission partly allowed the complaint and directed the insurer to pay a lump-sum compensation of Rs.4 lakh towards repair expenses, mental agony, harassment and litigation costs. The commission dismissed the complaint against IJM Punjab Motors, finding no deficiency in service on the part of the workshop. It also dismissed the complaint against four insurance company employees who had been impleaded in the case. The insurer has been directed to make the payment within 30 days, failing which the amount will carry interest at 6% per annum thereafter....