The term burglary and/or house breaking has been defined in terms of the policy which are as follows: "'Burglary and/or house breaking' shall mean theft involving entry to or exit from the premises stated therein by forcible and violent means or following assault or violence or threat thereof to the insured or to his employees or to the members of his family."
8. A comparison of the above terms as defined in the policy in the case of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Harchand Rai Chandan Lal (supra) and the scope of cover in the proposal form in the instant case are similar. This Court in the said judgment of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Harchand Rai Chandan Lal (supra) considered the scope of a policy involving burglary and house breaking and held as follows: "The policy is a contract between the parties and both parties are bound by the terms of contract.
As per the definition of the word "burglary", followed with violence, makes it clear that if any theft is committed it should necessarily be preceded with violence i.e. entry into the premises for committing theft should involve force or violence or threat to insurer or to his employees or to the members of his family. Therefore, the element of force and violence is a condition precedent for burglary and housebreaking. The term 'burglary' as defined in the English Dictionary means an illegal entry into the building with an intent to commit crime such as theft. But in absence of violence or force the insurer cannot claim indemnification against the insurance company.
The terms of the policy have to be construed as it is and we cannot add or subtract something. Howsoever liberally we may construe the policy but we cannot take liberalism to the extent of substituting the words which are not intended. It is true that in common parlance the term "burglary" would mean theft but it has to be preceded with force or violence. If the element of force and violence is not present then the insurer cannot claim compensation against theft from the insurance company. This expression appearing in the insurance policy came up for interpretation before the English Courts and the English Courts in no uncertain terms laid down that burglary or theft has to be preceded with force or violence in order to be indemnified by the insurance company.
In this connection reference may be made to the statement of law as summarized in Halsbury's Laws of England Fourth Edition (2003 Reissue) Para 646. It reads as under: "646. Forcible and violent entry. The terms of a burglary insurance may exclude liability in certain circumstances unless there is forcible and violent entry into the premises. If so, the entry must be obtained by the use of both force and violence or the definition is not satisfied and the policy does not apply. An entry obtained by turning the handle of an outside door or by using a skeleton key, though sufficient to constitute a criminal offence, is not within the policy since the element of violence is absent. However, an entry obtained by picking the lock or forcing back the catch by means of an instrument involves the use of violence and is therefore covered.
The policy may be so framed as to apply only to violent entry from the outside; or the violent entry into a room within the insured premises may be sufficient. In any case, the violence must be connected with the act of entry; if the entry is obtained without violence, the subsequent use of violence to effect the theft, as for instance where a show-case is broken open, does not bring the loss within the policy.""
9. It is well-settled law that there is no difference between a contract of insurance and any other contract, and that it should be construed strictly without adding or deleting anything from the terms thereof. On applying the said principle, we have no doubt that a forcible entry is required for a claim to be allowed under the policy for burglary/house breaking.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
M/s. Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd. Vs. New India Assurance Company Ltd. & ANR.
[Civil Appeal No. 1130 of 2007]
L. NAGESWARA RAO, J.
Dated:22 august 2016.
Citation: (2016) 15 SCC 315
Citation: (2016) 15 SCC 315
