Renewal commission under insurance law denied where a former agent joined a competing insurer and violated statutory conditions.

Renewal commission under Section 44(1) of the Insurance Act, 1948 was treated as a statutory entitlement governed strictly by the provision's conditions. Proviso (c) denies renewal commission where an agent has served continuously and exclusively for at least ten years and, after ceasing to act as agent, directly or indirectly solicits or procures insurance business for another person. As the LIC agent resigned and joined a competing insurer, the statutory bar applied and renewal commission was not payable. The challenge to proviso (c) as unconstitutional also failed, as the restriction was held to form part of the regulatory scheme for commission payment.

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Issues: Whether an LIC agent who resigned after long service and joined another life insurance company was entitled to renewal commission under Section 44(1) of the Insurance Act, 1948, and whether proviso (c) to Section 44(1) was unconstitutional.

Analysis: The right to renewal commission was treated as a statutory right governed by the terms of Section 44(1) of the Insurance Act, 1948. Proviso (c) expressly denied such commission where the agent had served continuously and exclusively for at least ten years and, after ceasing to act as agent, directly or indirectly solicited or procured insurance business for another person. Since the petitioner joined a competing insurer after resignation, the statutory condition was violated. The restriction was held to be part of the statutory framework regulating payment of commission and was not shown to infringe constitutional rights.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to renewal commission, and the challenge to proviso (c) to Section 44(1) failed.

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