In Brief
Bharti AXA General Insurance repudiated a claim under a personal accident policy after the insured's son died in a glider accident in Canada. The insurer argued the glider was neither a 'standard aircraft' nor a scheduled/charter flight, thus excluded from coverage. The National Commission allowed the claim. The Supreme Court held: a motorized glider qualifies as an aircraft under statute and policy; the vague term 'standard aircraft' must be interpreted liberally for the insured; the glider was duly licensed; the soaring centre operated as an 'own use charter'; and the deceased was a fare-paying passenger. Both exclusion clauses were avoided. Claim upheld."
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