Sign in
Insurance Law

Cement Corporation of India v. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.; 2025 INSC 1444 - Fire insurance policy

CaseCiter

• 3 min read
Read Judgment In LawLens
Note

You can read our notes on this judgment in our Supreme Court Daily Digests. If you are our subscriber, you should get it in our Whatsapp CaseCiter Community at about 9pm on every working day. If you are not our subscriber yet, you can register by clicking here:

Fire insurance policy - A fire insurance policy is essentially a contract entered between the insurer and the insured for indemnification of the loss caused to the insured goods by fire - If there was a fire and something was on fire which ought not to be on fire and such a fire was not caused by the wilful act of the insured, then any loss attributable to fire would be covered under the policy -If the damage is caused by fire, then the reason by which the fire took place becomes irrelevant. (Para 23-25)

Insurance Contracts - In case of insurance contracts, the exclusion clause must be construed strictly and wherever there is any ambiguity between two or more clauses in the contract, it must be interpreted in favour of the insured. (Para 26)

Case Info


Key Case Details

  • Coram: J.K. Maheshwari, J. and Vijay Bishnoi, J.
  • Judgment date: 16 December 2025.

Caselaws and Citations

  • New India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Zuari Industries Ltd., (2009) 9 SCC 70.
  • Orion Conmerx Pvt. Ltd. v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., 2025 SCC OnLine 2309.
  • New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Mudit Roadways, (2024) 3 SCC 193.
  • Sri Balaji Traders v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd., 2005 (1) CTC 267 (Madras HC), affirmed by SC.
  • Texco Marketing Pvt. Ltd. v. Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., (2023) 1 SCC 428.
  • Shivram Chandra Jagarnath Cold Storage v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd., (2022) 4 SCC 539.
  • Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Samayanallur Primary Agricultural Coop. Bank, cited within (exact citation not provided in text).
  • B.V. Nagaraju v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (1996) 4 SCC 647.
  • Skandia Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Kokilaben Chandravadan, (1987) 2 SCC 654.
  • Glynn v. Margetson & Co., 1893 AC 351 (HL).
  • Suisse Atlantique Societe d’Armement Maritime S.A. v. N.V. Rotterdamsche Kolen Centrale, (1967) 1 AC 361 (HL).

Statutes/Laws Referred

  • Principles of insurance law: doctrine of uberrima fides (utmost good faith); construction of exclusion clauses; proximate cause doctrine.
  • Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy terms, including:
    • Named perils list (Fire; Lightning; Explosion/Implosion; Aircraft Damage; Riot, Strike, Malicious Damage (RSMD); Storm/Cyclone/etc.; Impact Damage; Subsidence/Landslide; Bursting/overflowing of tanks/pipes; Missile Testing; Sprinkler Leakage; Bush Fire).
    • Fire exclusions: own fermentation/natural heating/spontaneous combustion; heating/drying process; burning by order of Public Authority.
    • General exclusions: theft during or after occurrence of insured peril except as under RSMD.
  • Secondary sources quoted:
    • Avtar Singh, Law of Insurance (2nd ed., 2010).
    • E.R. Hardy Ivamy, Fire and Motor Insurance (1973).
    • Welford & Otter-Barry, The Law Relating to Fire Insurance (4th ed.).
Cement Corporation of India v. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.; 2025 INSC 1444 - Fire insurance policy
Cement Corporation of India v. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.; 2025 INSC 1444 - Fire insurance policy.pdf
320 KB
download-circle