MUMBAI, May 11 -- The Bombay high court on Friday struck down an insurance ombudsman order, refusing reimbursement of Rs.17.77 lakh spent on cancer treatment by an 83-year-old businessman in the city on account of his drinking habit. "There is absolutely no evidence on record to indicate that petitioner's occasional consumption of alcohol has contributed to cancer, for which he was required to take medical treatment," said single judge bench of justice Sandeep Marne. The businessman in 2020, he ported to Care Health Insurance Ltd and opted for top-up cover of an additional Rs.50 lakh for three years by paying a premium of Rs.13.27 lakh. In July 2022, while the policy was still valid, the petitioner was diagnosed with cancer. After this, he underwent chemo and radiation therapies at Breach Candy Hospital, for which he initiated a claim but the company denied it. So, the man approached the insurance ombudsman, which, on June 10, 2024, upheld the repudiation citing non-disclosure of daily alcohol consumption and material facts i.e. existing ailment of hypertension at the time of taking the policy. The high court, however, found no substance in the reasons cited by the insurance company and the ombudsman. The court said, "petitioner's occasional consumption of alcohol could not have been a ground for repudiation of insurance claim." The court observed that the insurance ombudsman had no reason to cite hypertension as valid grounds since the insurance company had not cited the same initially.HTC...