National Insurance Co. Ltd vs Harjeet Rice Mills on 25 July, 2005
In National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Harjeet Rice Mills (III (2005) CPJ 6 (SC), the insurance company engaged a private investigator who reported that the fire might not have been caused by short-circuit as was claimed by the insured and that it could have been arson or a deliberate attempt to make an insurance claim. The claimant contended that the report of the private investigator could not be looked into in the light of Section 64 UM (c) of the Insurance Act. Rejecting the contention, it was held that the Section 64 UM of the Insurance Act cannot stand in the way of the Insurance Company in establishing that the claim was a fraud on the company or that it was a case of deliberately causing a fire so as to lay the foundation for an insurance claim.