Mulla and Mulla and Craigie Blunt and Caroe Advocate and Solicitor Hoshang D Nanavati said that out of 147 cases, 116 have been settled in full and final basis and 25 cases have been settled as per the judgment of the divisional bench of Kerala High Court. The six pending cases have been settled partially.
Declining to give out the details of the settlement like quantum of compensation, Nanavati only said claims of 147 air crash victims' families have been settled for Rs 107.35 crore.
The Montreal Convention of 1999 (XXI-Article 35), which has been enacted by our Country vide Carriages by Air Act along with all of the amendments has in it 'law of limitation', which sets a time limit for the families of the victims to file claims.
The time limit is two years from the date of the incident and in case of Mangalore air crash, the 'law of limitation' expires on May 22, 2012.
The Air India Express flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore overshot the runway while landing at the table top Bajpe airport, about 20 km from Mangalore, and caught fire after plunging about 300 metres off a cliff on May 22, 2010. Answering a query whether there was a delay in settling cases as the deadline to sort out cases will end in May, Nanavati said that he does not think so. “We have been pro-active and we are going out of our way to come here. Many people who come do not have the complete documents, which has been a major setback for settlement,” he claimed.
“There has been no increase in the amount allotted for housewives. However, if the families can show that the housewives were earning some income, we can increase the amount,” added Nanavati.
He claimed that he succeeded in settling nine cases during the last three days and 13 more cases are pending. “We shall have to make another quick visit soon, to sort out the pending cases,” he said.
The Supreme Court on January 3, 2012, had issued a notice to the Central government and Air India on a petition seeking a minimum compensation of Rs 75 lakh each for the 158 passengers killed in the air crash.
An apex court bench issued the notice after senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for petitioner S Abdul Salam and others, told the court that under the Montreal convention the national carrier was obliged to pay a minimum compensation of 100,000 SDRs (special drawing rights) to the kith and kin of the passengers who died in the crash.
The SDR is a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund ( IMF). According to the current value, one lakh SDR working out to over Rs 75 lakh.
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