The judicial positions on the nature of an insurance contract, and how an exclusion clause is to be proved, shall anchor our reasoning in the following paragraphs. 18. Seeking to justify their repudiation, the appellant relied on the affidavit of evidence by Mr. S. Anantha Padmanabhan, examined as RW 2. He produced the surveyor’s report as well as the Expert Committee’s report as Ex. RW 2/2. On the other hand, the reports of the independent experts relied upon by the respondents no. 1 and 2 were not marked as exhibits. They were not adduced in evidence as none of these experts was examined as a witness. Under these circumstances, we have no hesitation in coming to a conclusion that the appellants have discharged the burden as enunciated in Texco (supra). 5 National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Vedic Resorts and Hotels Pvt. Ltd., 2023 SCC OnLine SC 648. 6 National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Ishar Das Madan Lal, 2007 (4) SCC 105. 1419. The Expert Committee was constituted by the Ministry of