A knee injury sustained by Sreesanth in 2012 remains a bone of contention

An injury S Sreesanth sustained 13 years ago is still a subject of interest because Rajasthan Royals, the IPL franchise he then represented, is seeking an insurance sum. The case that went through various stages of legal tussles reached the Supreme Court earlier this week.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta stayed an order by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that directed the United India Insurance Company to pay the Royals a sum of over Rs 82 lakh.

The apex court noted that Sreesanth did not play a single day in the 2012 IPL season. The insurance company had filed a petition. On March 28, 2012, the day the policy bought by the Royals was enforced, Sreesanth suffered a knee injury at a practice match in Jaipur and was ruled out of the season.

The policy that the Royals bought from the insurance company was 'Special Contingency Insurance for Player Loss of Fees Cover'. As per the policy, the insurer had to pay the franchise for the non-appearance of the player due to circumstances, including accident/injury sustained during the policy period.

A surveyor appointed by the appellant reported that the injury was on account of a 'sudden unforeseen and unexpected event' and the claim was within the scope of the policy.

But the insurer denied the claim on the grounds that Sreesanth had an existing injury, which was not disclosed. It was then that the Royals approached the NCDRC, which ruled in favour of the franchise.