Rights Of Indemnity Holder And Judicial Interpretation

Sanchli Sethi, Jindal Global Law School

ABSTRACT

Whenever a tangible loss is incurred, the first thought most people have is how to recover it. The practice of insuring assets is so widespread because a sense of security lingers in the minds of the people when someone promises to recover a part, or all of the loss incurred. This contractual relationship lies at the core of the Contract of Indemnity. While the concept of indemnity is universal, in the Indian context, The Indian Contract Act of 1872 lays the foundation of the contract of indemnity. According to Section 124, “A contract by which one party promises to save the other from loss caused to him by the contract of the promisor himself, or by the conduct of any other person, is called a ‘contract of indemnity’.”

This paper aims to understand the concept of indemnity by analysing the Rights of the Indemnity Holder and comparing the Indian conception of indemnity with that of the English Law.