The Bombay High Court has reserved its order on a plea filed by Essar Steel Ltd against New India Assurance.

The steel-making arm of the diversified Essar Group had appealed to the court to appoint an arbitrator in its dispute with the country’s largest general insurance company.

The Ruia’s-controlled steel major had filed an arbitration case challenging the denial of a Rs 1,000-crore insurance claim for damage caused to its pipelines in Chhattisgarh in Naxal attacks in 2010.

Arguing the case on behalf of New India Assurance, senior counsel Aspi Chinoy said Essar Steel was denied a claim as the company had not disclosed the history of Naxal attacks before buying the policy, which could have helped the insurer decide the risk involved.

New India claimed Essar Steel had hidden the fact that there had been 10-11 attacks by Naxals on its projects in the past.

Essar said there was no need to make any disclosures on terrorist or Naxal attacks as these were common knowledge.

Essar Steel, in its claim, said its pumping station and slurry pipeline in Chitrakonda, Odisha, were blown up by terrorists in March 2010, causing it losses of about Rs 1,000 crore.

> priyanka.pani@thehindu.co.in

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