Supreme Court Directs Nominee to Share Insurance Proceeds with Widow, Rejects Dilatory Tactics

Case Snapshot

Case Name: Kirty Agarwal v. Chief Operating Officer & Ors.

Citation: 2026 INSC 782

Bench: Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Date of Judgment: July 28, 2026

Area of Law: Insurance Law, Succession Law, Nomination

The Judgment in One Line

Nominee holds insurance proceeds in trust for legal heirs; widow entitled to half share despite husband's father being nominee.

Why This Judgment Matters

This judgment reaffirms the settled principle that a nominee under a life insurance policy merely holds the proceeds in trust for the persons entitled to the estate of the deceased. The Court directed the father-in-law (nominee) to pay half the proceeds to the widow, recognizing that the mother and wife are the only Class I legal heirs. The judgment also demonstrates the Court's ability to resolve family disputes summarily when parties are willing to compromise, and its refusal to countenance dilatory tactics by litigants seeking to delay resolution.

Background

The appellant's husband took out a life insurance policy. He recorded his father (the 6th respondent

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