Judgment:
WP No.633 of 2010 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction ORIGINAL SIDE S.B.OVERSEAS LIMITED Versus NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED & ORS.Appearance Mr.Jaydip Kar, Adv.Mr.Sanjib Kr.
Mal, Adv.Mr.Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Adv.Ms.Supriya Dubey, Adv.BEFORE: The Hon'ble JUSTICE SANJIB BANERJEE Date :
1. t August, 2013.
The Court : The petitioner’s grievance is that an insurance claim has been rejected without being repudiated on the ground of perceived failure on the petitioner’s part to submit documents that had been sought by the company without affording the petitioner adequate time to submit the same.
The petitioner claims that there was a fire at the petitioner’s manufacturing facility pursuant to which a claim was made with the respondent insurance company and the insurance company sought certain documents which the petitioner could not deposit within the deadline set therefor.
The insurance company, by its letter of December 12, 2008, informed the petitioner that the insurance company treated “the claim as NO CLAIM for non-submission of documents.”
The petitioner says that the documents demanded by the insurance company, as would appear from the letter of May 18, 2005 by the surveyor appointed by the insurance company, included third party documents which the petitioner could not immediately obtain or submit to the insurance company.
The petitioner says that despite the documents being furnished subsequently, the insurance company has not considered the claim.
It is submitted by the insurance company that the petitioner is not entitled to make any claim since the goods apparently destroyed by the fire had been pledged with a third party and the pledgee had not made any claim despite having obtained insurance in respect of the pledged goods.
It is not necessary to go into such disputed questions of fact at this stage.
Since it is evident that the petitioner’s claim was not entertained – and not repudiated – on the petitioner’s failure to submit the documents sought within reasonable time, WP No.633 of 2010 is disposed of by directing the respondent insurance company to consider the documents that have been furnished and deal with the claim in accordance with law.
It is made clear that nothing in this order will prevent the insurance company to repudiate the claim, if the circumstances so warrant.
The insurance company should complete the exercise within a period of three months from date.
There will be no order as to costs.
Certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be urgently supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
(SANJIB BANERJEE, J.) sg.