SANDEEP MEHTA,J. - (1.) These two writ petitions involve common questions of facts and law and are thus being decided by this single order.
(2.) These writ petitions have been preferred challenging two separate orders dated 03.06.2016 passed by the Permanent Lok Adalat, Pali in Cases No.4/- 2011 and 5/- 2011 whereby, the orders passed by the petitioner Insurance Company repudiating the insurance claims of the respondents were quashed and set aside and the company was directed to reimburse the claims for loss of insured goods lodged by the respective parties under the Marine Insurance Policies held by them.
(3.) The respondents herein had taken Marine Insurance Policies from the petitioner Company to cover the risk of textiles material being transported from Pali City to different parts of the country by road transport. Bales of cloth insured under the Marine Insurance Policies were transported by the respondents from Pali to Kolkata and were unloaded at the Godown of Inland Road Transport Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata. A huge fire broke out in the godown of the transport company on the night intervening 13-14th February, 2010 and the insured bales of cloth were destroyed therein. As per Clause 2 of the Marine Insurance Policy, the liability of the Insurance Company to cover the risk of the goods under the Marine Policy was valid for a period of seven days from the date of actual delivery of goods. The transport company i.e. the Inland Road Transport Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata issued a non-delivery certificate dated 11.06.2010 to the parties where after, Insurance claims were lodged by the respective consignor respondent for different sums of money. The Insurance company, however, repudiated the claims of the Insured Consignors by separate orders (Annexure-A/1) dated 20.05.2011 assigning identical reasons. The language of the order repudiating claim is relevant for the purpose of deciding the controversy and thus is reproduced herein below for the sake of ready reference:- "With reference to your above mentioned claim filed with us, we have to intimate that the competent authority as repudiated this claim on following grounds:- 1. As per Insurance Act, the insurance terminates on delivery to any other Warehouse whether prior to or at destination which the insured may elect for Storage other than in ordinary course of transit or for allocation or distribution. In this case also the consignees were using the transports godwon as further distribution/sell hence, the coverage of policy seized at the time of goods unloaded in godwon. 2. As per the available statement of goods burnt at Kolkatta the goods dispatched in the months of April, 2009 to December-2009 and January-2010 to date of loss was also lying at the same godwon it clearly shows that, consignee were using the above godwon as storage of their goods for all the time hence, our cover seized as soon as goods reached at above godwon. As per the Marine Act, if the insured elects to use a part of warehouse for Storage this, would be outside the ordinary course of transit and the same is not covered under the policy. 3. The all damaged goods stored at transporter godwon were falls under the definition of goods held in trust for which transporter had the Fire policy from Oriental Insurance Company amounting Rs.7.50 Crore. 4. As per the invoice copies available in the claim file the insured was sending the goods on purchase risk basis and as per insured letter the freight charges also paid by the consignees. The insured has debited the purchaser account at the time of hand over the goods to transporter which shows, that the insured was selling the goods on FOB basis. 5. Condition No.7 in open policy of Marine Insurance that insured is bound and will declare each and every dispatch coming under the scope of the policy without any exception but in this case insured has violated the condition by not declaring the dispatches of Rs.12,66,827/- In view of the above facts, as the said loss does not comes in the coverage of Marine Policy, hence the competent authority has repudiated the said claim finally, which please be intimated to you.";