Fires caused by storms, floods, earthquakes are considered 'Act of God': Supreme

New Delhi, Dt
The Supreme Court has given a shocking verdict in a factory fire. The Supreme Court said that a fire cannot be considered an 'act of God' unless it is caused by a storm, flood, lightning or earthquake.
A three-member bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar passed the order rejecting the Allahabad High Court's order. The High Court had termed the fire in a company's warehouse as an 'act of God'. At the same time, the High Court exempted the liquor company from liability for production charges.
The bench comprising Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna Murari also presided over the hearing. The apex court said the fire was not caused by a storm, flood, lightning or earthquake. If no external natural cause is responsible for this fire then the occurrence of fire can be termed as anything other than the act of God in legal parlance.
The apex court also admitted that no one was the cause of the fire in the case. It may be mentioned that the fire broke out in the warehouse of the factory on April 10, 2006 at 12.5 pm and was brought under control by 5 am. The Supreme Court said that looking at all the pertinent reasons as a whole, it is difficult for us to accept that it was beyond the control of any human agency to prevent fire and prevent damage from it, so it could be termed as an inevitable tragedy.
The fire did not originate automatically. Proper fire prevention measures could have prevented this incident or reduced the damage. The High Court's comments in this case do not seem appropriate, so it is rejected. The Uttar Pradesh Excise Department had challenged in the Supreme Court the order of the Allahabad High Court to exempt the liquor company from production duty due to the destruction of the liquor company in a fire which was heard in the court.