M'lore Air Crash: Kerala HC Asks Air India to Pay Rs 75 Lac Compensation to Victims
Daijiworld Media Network
Kochi, Jul 20: In what came as a huge relief to the families of those who perished in the 2010 Mangalore air crash that had claimed 158 lives, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday July 20 asked Air India to pay a compensation of Rs 75 lac each to the victims' kin.
The order came after a hearing of the petition filed by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of B Mohammed Rafi who was killed in the crash.
Justice P R Ramachandran Menon who passed the order directed Air India to pay the compensation within a month's time. Totally, the compensation will amount to Rs 124 crore.
The deceased's brothers and sisters are also party to the petition. Union government and National Aviation company (erstwhile Air India) are the respondents in the case.
The air crash, one of the worst in Indian aviation history, left 158 dead, including the pilot and crew. Of them, 53 were Keralites. The plane overshot the runway and caught fire after one of its wings hit a hillock before landing at Kenjar in Mangalore.
There were 166 persons on board the flight IX-892, piloted by a Serbian national. Operating the Boeing 737-800, the pilot had first tried to land and later attempted to gain altitude.
The court held that the carrier was liable to pay no fault liability of one lac SDR (Special Drawing Rights equal to Rs 75 lac) to the petitioner. The SDR is a special currency issued by IMF. This is apart from whatever other compensation the petitioners are entitled to.
The petitioners prayed for a direction to settle the entire statutory claims made under the provision of the Air Act 1972 from the respondents on the death of Rafi. They had sought Rs 1.5 crore as compensation.
Noting that India was a signatory to the Montreal Convention, the court said, "It is clear that the intention of lawmakers was to bring about a parity in the matter of payment of compensation to the passengers, irrespective of class of travel, while providing for a 'two tier system' of compensation as adopted in Montreal convention."
With PTI inputs
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