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2026 Supreme(Online)(NCDRC) 40
NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION
A.P. Sahi, President, Bharatkumar Pandya, Member
Ponni Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. – Respondent
NC/CC/108/2014|NC/IA/7727/2022|2369/2025
For the Complainant: Maibam N. Singh, A. Mohammed Nazar, Amier Abbaz, Shanmugasundaram
For the Opposite Parties: Nachiketa Joshi, Anand Shankar Jha, Nandika Kaushik
Physical inventory of damaged stock on insured premises establishes insurable interest and loss, prevailing over negative book-stock absent conclusive proof of third-party ownership; policy-specific coverage overrides general exclusions.
Headnote:(A) Consumer Protection Act, 1986 - Insurance Policies - Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy - Fire loss to stocks in kutcha sheds and buildings - Repudiation on grounds of construction warranty breach, negative book-stock indicating no insurable interest, and non-disclosure - Kutcha constructions covered under policy schedule as evidenced by insurer's own filed documents; non-production of proposal form raises adverse inference - Physical inventory of damaged stock by surveyor (88407 cans belonging to insured) prevails over derived negative book-stock without further investigation proving third-party ownership - Surveyor's assessment of net loss adopted despite delay in report - Repudiation held untenable, constituting deficiency in service. (Throughout)
(B) Insurance - Surveyor Report - Physical verification and inventory of loss paramount over book-stock computations showing negative balance; presumption of ownership of goods on premises unless rebutted by positive evidence; surveyor must investigate further to conclusively attribute damaged stock to third parties. (Surveyor report analysis)
Facts of the case:
Complainant manufacturing unit suffered fire on 10.02.2010 damaging stocks in kutcha sheds and buildings under two policies hypothecated to bank. Surveyor assessed physical damage but recommended repudiation due to warranty breach and negative stock per books; insurer repudiated claim on 08.05.2012.
Findings of Court:
Kutcha constructions covered under policy; physical inventory establishes loss and insurable interest; adopt surveyor's net assessment of Rs.68,61,009 (stocks Rs.66,96,565 + building Rs.1,74,444 less excess); insurer directed to pay Rs.69 lakhs with 6% interest from complaint date.
Issues: Whether kutcha storage violated policy warranty; whether negative book-stock negates insurable interest despite physical inventory; validity of repudiation grounds including non-disclosure.
Ratio Decidendi: Policy coverage including kutcha structures overrides general warranty exclusions where specifically insured; physical evidence of loss trumps book discrepancies absent conclusive proof of non-ownership; insurer cannot repudiate genuine claim based on unresolved negative stock paradox without deeper investigation.
Result: Complaint partly allowed; repudiation set aside; insurer to pay Rs.69 lakhs with 6% interest from 17.04.2014 and costs of Rs.1 lakh.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. factual background of the case. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8) |
| 2. insurance policy details and claims. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
IN THE NATIONAL ^CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION AT NEW DELHI NC/CC/108/2014 WITH NC/IA/7727/2022 AND 2369/2025 (Directions, Early hearing)
M/s Ponni Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Regd. Office at Sappanipatti Village, Karagur Post, Krishnagiri Taluk & District-625111, Tamil Nadu, India, Rep. by its Managing Director Sri L. Moorthi S/o Lakshmanan, R/o Keelpaiyur Village, Paiyur Post, Krishnagiri Taluk & District-635112, Tamil Nadu, India, ... Complainant Versus
1. M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.
H.O. and R.O. GE Plaza, Airport Road, Yerwada, Pune-411006 (India), 2. M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd., Third Floor, People's Park, Govt. Arts College Road, Coimbatore-641018, Tamil Nadu, India, 3. M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd., 15, Kolaman Complex, First Floor, Opp. ABN Amro Bank, Saratha College Main Road, Salem Taluk & District-636004, Tamil Nadu, India, 4. Branch Manager, M/s Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd.
(Now part of DBS Bank India Ltd.), 9-C, Nethaji Bi-Pass Road, Hotel Agarwal Bhavan Building, Dharmapuri-636701, Tamil Nadu, India, 5. Managing Director & CEO, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, (Now part of DBS Bank India Ltd.), Regd. Office:
GF: Nos. 11 & 12 & FF Nos. 110 to 115, Capitol Point BKS Marg, Connaught Place, Delhi-110001, Corporate Office: First Floor, Express Tower, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400021, ... Opposite Parties BEFORE:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.P. SAHI, PRESIDENT HON'BLE MR. BHARATKUMAR PANDYA, MEMBER For the Complainant :Mr. Maibam N. Singh, Advocate Mr. A. Mohammed Nazar, Advocate Mr. Amier Abbaz, Advocate Mr. Shanmugasundaram, Advocate with Mr. Moorthy Lakshmanan, MD of complainant For the Opposite Parties :Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, Sr. Advocate for OP-1-3/
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd.
(through VC)
Mr. Anand Shankar Jha, Advocate &
Ms. Nandika Kaushik, Advocate for OP-4 & 5/
Lakshmi Vilas Bank (Now DBS Bank India Ltd.)
Pronounced on 9th January, 2026
ORDER
PER A.P. SAHI, J„ PRESIDENT AND HON'BLE MR. BHARATKUMAR PANDYA, MEMBER The complainant before us is a Mango Pulp Manufacturing Unit that had acquired two insurance policies, one for Stocks and the other for Building, Plant & Machinery together with its accessories. We are referring to the policies which are Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy, policy no. 00000003 and 00000706. For the sake of reference, we will mention the policy for Stocks as policy no.03 and the policy for Building, Plant & Machinery as policy no. 706. The duration of the policy for Stocks was from 18.08.2009 to 17.08.2010 whereas the policy for the Building, Plant 8i Machinery was for the period
19.08.2009 to 18.08.2010.
We may point out that the Plant had been established way back in the year 2004 and was running and we have mentioned the policy numbers and the duration thereof which relates to the date of incident and the claim made in respect whereof the present complaint has been filed.
According to the complainant, the devastating fire that occurred on
10.02.2010 caused an extensive damage to the Building, Plant & Machinery as L well as to the Stocks that were stored in permanent Pucca constructions as well as in a godown which has been described, and is one of the essential disputes raised, made of temporary or "Kutcha" constructions.
According to the complainant, policy no. 03 covers the risk of all Stocks stored in the premises comprising both the Pucca godowns as well as the Kutcha godowns, and therefore the entire loss and damage deserved to be indemnified. The complainant has relied on the terms of the policy schedule that has been filed along with the complaint as Annexure C-3. It is the contention of the complainant that since the goods were hypothecated to the Lakshmi Vilas Bank, the insurance was negotiated by the Bank itself and the premium thereof was also debited by the Bank from the account of the complainant.
In
