Court orders AI to hike Mangalore crash compensation to Rs 75 lakh

July 20, 2011

mangalore_air_crash_2

Mangalore/Kochi, July 20: The families of victims of the Air India Express crash in Mangalore last year are entitled to a minimum compensation of Rs 75 lakh each, the Kerala High Court held today.

Justice P R Ramachandran Menon passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of 24-year-old B Mohammed Rafi, who was killed in the crash.

158 passengers and crew on board the Air India aircraft from Dubai had perished in the worst air disaster in the last decade, when the plane caught fire after one of its wings hit a hillock at Kenjar in Mangalore.

The brothers and sisters of the deceased are also party to the petition. Union government and National Aviation company (erstwhile Air India) are the respondents in the case.

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 lakh SDR (Special Drawing Rights equal to Rs 75 lakh) 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."

The "first limb" of compensation as stipulated under Rule 21(1) of the Third schedule was with the said intent to provide the same as the "minimum compensation" payable in respect of death or the bodily injuries subject to the satisfaction of extent of damage, the court said.

"Since the extent of damage to any injury cannot be anything more than death", no further proof is necessary to have sanctioned the minimum compensation of "Rs one lakh SDR" in the case of death and this is the mandate of the Statute, it held.

The court said it was of the "firm belief" that Mohammed Rafi, who lost his life like the several others, was not liable to be discriminated by the respondents, restricting the compensation with reference to his age, income or the dependency of the members of the family.

The petitioners were entitled to have a "minimum of one lakh SDR" as compensation payable under the Statute based on the Montreal Convention treating the matter as "no fault liability" which can in no case be "absolved or limited by the carrier under any circumstances", it said.

About Rs 20 lakh has already been paid to the petitioners and the rest should be paid in a month's time, it added.

The petitioners said the deceased, working in UAE was returning home to Kumbala in Kasaragod in the ill-fated flight.

They said that the National Aviation Company Ltd, put forth an "unconscionable" demand, allegedly at the instance of their insurers, to come to a settlement for a total sum of Rs 35 lakh in full and final settlement.

Against this, the petitioners approached the High Court seeking a declaration and enforcement of their rights, referring to the mandate of the Montreal Convention.

The air crash was solely on account of lapse on the part of the pilot and in turn the sheer negligence of the National Aviation Company, they said.

The company filed a counter stating that the matter has to be dealt with as per the provision of the Carriage by Air Act 1972, as amended by Montreal Convention of 1999 to the exclusion of all other laws in force in India.

Referring to the fact that the deceased was aged 24 and was "employed as salesman in a supermarket, earning a salary of 2000 AED (RS 25,000 per month)", the maximum compensation was contended as much below Rs 35 lakh and accordingly the amount was offered as compensation payable in "full and final settlement", which was unacceptable to the petitioners.

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News Network
February 6,2020

New Delhi, Feb 6: BJP MP Tejaswi Surya said on Wednesday that the majority community has to remain vigilant or Mughal rule will return to the country, as he slammed the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh.

He was participating in the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in Lok Sabha.

Referring to the ongoing protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said, "Unless majority community remains vigilant, the days of Mughal Raj may not be far away."

Surya also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving several critical issues which had been pending for several decades.

The CAA, he said, was aimed at resolving the issues emanating from Partition and added, "The new India cannot to built without healing the wounds of the past."

He said that the CAA was about giving citizenship to persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangaladesh and Afghanistan and not for taking away anyone's citizenship.

Under the leadership of Modi, Surya said, several issues of the past have seen closure. These include abrogation of Article 370, construction of Ram temple, Bodo problems and abolition of Triple Talaq.

K Sudhakaran (Cong) said that a time when the economy was going through its worst phase and unemployment was high, the President in his speech talked about making India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024.

On the comments of the government functionaries that fundamentals of the economy are strong, he said the same expression was used by the then US President George Bush, days before the collapse of the America's iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers.

Not only that, Sudhakaran said even before the Great Depression, the then US President used to say that fundamentals of their economy were strong.

Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal) demanded that the government set up All India Judicial Services Commission to ensure representation of the backward community in the judiciary.

Khagen Murmu (BJP) regretted that West Bengal government was not implementing the welfare schemes of the Centre in the state.

Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) said that people of all communities have fought for freedom of the country and it would be incorrect to declare everyone opposing the government's policies as 'gaddar' (traitor).

He said that the government should talk to people protesting against the CAA at Shaheen Bagh and other places, and explain the provisions to them.

Shrirang Appa Barne (Shiv Sena) demanded that the ruling party fulfil all promises it had made to the people of the country.

He regretted that although the government promised to double the income of farmers by 2022, farmers were still committing suicide.

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News Network
March 31,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 31: The total number of positive cases of coronavirus reached 101 in Karnataka on Tuesday after 13 more positive cases were reported in the state from March 30 5 pm to 2 pm today.

The total number of 101 includes three deaths and 8 discharged/cured cases, Karnataka Health Department stated.

Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 1,397 after 146 new patients were reported in the last 24-hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

Of this little less than 1,400 cases, there are 1,238 active while 124 cured. The total figure also includes 35 fatalities.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Protesters plan to intensify their anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act movement from sit-down satyagrahas and rallies to street and door-to-door campaigns in different parts of the city.

The street campaigns began on January 1 with 20-30 volunteers of Hum Bharat Ke Log, reaching out to people in Koramangala and Whitefield and explaining the CAA, National Population Register (NPR), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and related issues. They have organised four campaigns.

According to Zia Nomani, member of Hum Bharat Ke Log, the campaign will intensify soon. “Over 200-400 volunteers will organise nukkad sabhas and other activities around JP Nagar and Banashankari,” Nomani said.

She added that though protests began as a medium for people to vent their concerns, more needs to be done.

“We have realised that many people have begun working on their personal documents and want to help them understand what CAA is all about,” Nomani said.

Volunteers will talk to people at street junctions, discuss issues and run signature campaigns. They say: “Our movement is focussed on reaching out to people. Pro-CAA workers too started a door-to-door campaign last week.”

Avani Chokshi, an advocate who participated in a campaign, said though people had a cursory idea about these issues, they didn’t know the details. “It through such campaigns that we can reach more people. It’s important to talk to people who haven’t made up their mind about the issues or are even pro-CAA,” said Avani, adding, “It hard to combat hatred in a short span of time. The movement needs to be sustained.”

Activist Geeta Menon, who has been at the forefront of the street campaign, says they were heckled at some places.

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