M'lore Air Crash: Compensation Not Enough, says Victims Families' Association
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jul 21: Their fight for justice has been going on for more than a year, and on Wednesday July 20 when the Kerala high court directed Air India to pay Rs 75 lac as compensation to the families of each victim, it was like they had finally won their hard-fought battle.
It was a little more than a year ago when the Air India Express IX812 Mangalore-Dubai-Mangalore flight overshot the runway on May 22, 2010 catching fire and crashing into the Kenjar valley. Of the 166 passengers, only eight survived, while 158 perished.
Since then it has been a continuous tug of war between Air India, its legal counsels Mulla & Mulla and the kin of the victims. The families have been made to go through a harrowing time, besides being subjected to utter insensitivity with arguments of their departed loved one's scope for looking after the family and measuring lives in terms of money.
Mulla & Mulla had fixed the compensation amount at Rs 35 lac for men, Rs 30 lac for women and Rs 25 lac for children killed in the tragedy, which is much lesser than the Rs 75 lac stipulated under the Montreal Convention.
However, though the Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association has welcomed the high court order and termed it a victory, the association is not completely satisfied. Said Habeeb Rehman, "Air india should have given the compensation earlier as demanded by the committee. We would not have gone to the High Court and it would have also saved Air India's face. It's a shame for Air India. But we are not satisfied entirely, as some more calculation must be done before the compensation is paid. Some of the victims earned more and Rs 75 lac would not do justice to them. Civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi has assured of more compensation, which would be a welcome move."
Mohammed Beary, president of the Assocation said that Rs 75 lac had been demanded earlier but Praful Patel who was the then civil aviation minister had no proper knowledge of the law regarding compensation. He had said that all victims could not be compensated on equal basis but now the court ruling contradicts him. He also added that the fight will continue as pilot error has been established which makes it liable for more compensation.
He said their lawyers Urban Olson and Stephen Erikson, both from Stockholm in Sweden, will negotiate with a London insurance company with regard to the compensation of 60 families on July 28, followed by two more rounds of negotiations.
Varadraj Kayyangal, legal advisor for the Association, said that even after the High Court order came, Air India chose to wash its hands of the matter and said that it is the insurance company which has to pay the amount and not Air India. "They cannot say that. It is an escapist attitude. It is Air India's fault and they should take the responsibility," he added.
On Wednesday, the order came from the Kerala High Court after a hearing of a petition filed by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of 24-year-old Mohammed Rafi who was one of the victims of the crash.
The court asked Air India to pay no fault liability of one lac SDR (Special Drawing Rights equal to Rs 75 lac) to each of the victim's kin, apart from whatever other compensation the petitioners are entitled to. The SDR is a special currency issued by IMF.
The court said that as India was a signatory to the Montreal Convention, the payment must be made "irrespective of class of travel, while providing for a 'two tier system' of compensation as adopted in Montreal convention."
So far, the Air India has settled only 56 cases while the rest are still fighting it out.