Delhi HC – Arbitral Award – Insurance – Double Deduction
The petitioner had taken insurancehttps://www.legaldeli.in/blog/category/insurance/ fire policy for Rs.30 crores for 2016-2017. On 25.4.2017, there was fire in the godown. The petitioner submitted claim for Rs.37,27,22,010/-. The surveyor had assessed the loss of Rs.20,65,27,032/- vide report dated 9.7.2018. However, the respondent unilaterally reduced the said loss to Rs.65,86,125/- as full and final settlement after 20 months of surveyor assessment.
On 30.12.2020, clause 13 arbitration clause of the policy was invoked. The arbitral award for Rs.20,65,27,032/- was passed.
The Award is challenged on the grounds – pre-reference interest, double deduction, undervaluation of stock and taxation component.
Double Deduction – Surveyor, vide the Survey Report dated 09th July, 2018, had already deducted a sum of Rs. 1,08,68,865/- from the claim value in terms of the Excess Clause under the Insurance Policy. Despite the same, the Surveyor made an additional deduction of Rs. 1,37,71,763/- towards error / omission / dead stock, etc.‟
The learned Arbitrator has wrongly construed the challenge to be regarding the deduction of Rs.1,08,68,865/-, which was admittedly and undisputedly, as per the Excess Clause of the Insurance Policy. Such a finding by the learned Arbitrator is evidently perverse, as the dispute in question before the learned Arbitrator was not towards the deduction under the Excess Clause, but to the deduction towards „error / omission / dead stock, etc.‟
Judgment dated 10.4.2026 of the High Court of Delhi in O.M.P. (COMM) 8/2024 of Panchanan International Vs The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd
