SOHOM SHIPPING PVT. LTD. versus M/S THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. & ANR.

Citation: [2025] 5 S.C.R. 33 · Decided: 06-04-2025 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: B.V. NAGARATHNA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2025] 5 S.C.R. 33 : 2025 INSC 453
Sohom Shipping Pvt. Ltd.  
v. 
M/s The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. & Anr.
(Civil Appeal No. 2323 of 2021)
07 April 2025
[B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma,* JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
The present dispute hinges on the phrase “voyage should 
commence & complete before monsoon sets in”, a special condition 
contained in the contract for insurance between the parties, and 
raises questions regarding its validity, interpretation and materiality. 
Whether, the special condition in the policy schedule for voyage 
insurance stands breached justifying the de facto repudiation of 
the appellant’s claim by the respondent.
Headnotes†
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 – s.67 – Insurance Contract – 
The appellant company insured its voyage and the vessel 
with the respondent insurance company – The insurance 
contract contained a special condition that the “voyage 
should commence & complete before the monsoon sets 
in” – The vessel undertook voyage on 06.06.2013 and on the 
very next day it got anchored due to bad weather and engine 
failure – The insurance claim of the appellant was repudiated 
on the ground that the vessel set sail after monsoon set in 
thereby breaching the special condition in the insurance 
contract – NCDRC dismissed the complaint of the appellant 
on account of the doctrine of Uberrima fidei (good faith) 
being compromised – Correctness:
Held: There is no doubt that the policy was taken for a period 
of one month (16.05.2013 to 15.06.2013) to cover the voyage 
from Mumbai to Kolkata – Further, as per the DGS Circular, 
foul weather commences on 1st May itself on the East Coast – 
The respondent’s contention that they had no knowledge of the 
voyage and that they believed that the Vessel would be laid up 
at the Kolkata harbour during the foul season is unacceptable 
* Author
34
[2025] 5 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
and is to be rejected – The appellant had mentioned in the form 
that the purpose of insurance is to undertake the voyage from 
Ghodbunder Jetty in Mumbai to Kolkata harbour – The only logical 
conclusion of the information provided is that the insurance was 
availed to cover the foul weather period along the west and east 
coast – Even if the voyage was undertaken immediately, i.e. on 
16.05.2013, the Vessel would have arrived at the Kolkata harbour 
in the first week of June 2013, i.e. after the commencement of 
foul weather season on the east coast – There is absolutely no 
permutation and combination in which the appellant could have 
fulfilled this condition under the policy, given its voyage from 
Mumbai (west coast) to Kolkata (east coast) via several coastal 
States – Further, the special condition necessitates that the voyage 
commences and is completed before monsoon sets in – If the 
condition is to be interpreted strictly, then the assured would be 
unable to make a claim in case of a marine accident where the 
vessel is unable to complete its voyage due to a peril, rendering 
the special condition impossible to comply with – Ultimately, the 
assured would be without any remedy under the insurance – This 
amounts to an absurdity, vitiating the very purpose behind an 
insurance contract – As a result, the special condition cannot be 
treated as a condition precedent to waive any liability under the 
policy – It has been impliedly waived by the parties due to its 
non-material nature – In the instant case, the respondent is not 
entitled to repudiate the claim of the appellant on the ground of 
breach of the special condition – The matter is remanded to the 
NCDRC with a direction to determine the extent of the insured sum 
liable to be paid by the respondent to the appellant. [Paras 18, 21]
Insurance – Interpretation of Insurance contract – Uberrima 
Fides:
Held: It is trite to state that the interpretation of the Insurance 
Contract falls upon the same principles as the interpretation of 
any contract, except that there exists a requirement of uberrima 
fides, i.e. good faith on part of the assured – It is therefore 
well-settled that the policy and all the terms therein ought to be 
construed strictly, to the extent possible. [Para 11]
Rule of Construction – Contra proferentem – Discussed. 
[Para 15]
[2025] 5 S.C.R. 
35
Sohom Shipping Pvt. Ltd. v.  
M/s The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. & Anr.
Case Law Cited
General Assurance Society Ltd. v. Chandumull Jain & Anr. [1966] 
3 SCR 500; Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of 
Orissa
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