We have received complaints that when you take a policy with LIC and
sign your name in Kannada, LIC demands that someone else should vouch
that it is your signature. This requirement is not imposed if you sign
in English. We wish to point out that this anti-Kannada requirement is
illegal.
According to General Clauses Act, 1897, a sign is any mark that
is put to authenticate a document. It need not be in any specific
language and need not be in any language at all. So if a person says
that the mark he is putting is his signature which authenticates the
document in question, there is no need for anyone else to attest to that
fact.
We are writing to LIC head office in Mumbai and the Directorate
of Public Grievances in Delhi to stop this needless harassment of
Kannada-writing policy holders.
M.A.Sridhar, Mysore Grahakara Parishat