Date:28/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/28/stories/2004052814610300.htm

New Delhi

IA asked to pay compensation

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MAY 27. This was a suitcase that Indian Airlines never found. Travelling between Aurangabad and Udaipur, the last thing that Tapas Chaudhary expected was that he would lose his suitcase with all his important documents. Determined to get compensated for his loss, he took the airline to court.

The consumer disputes redressal forum has now held Indian Airlines guilty of deficiency in service for not delivering the suitcase to Mr. Chaudhary and directed it to pay Rs. 11,250 at 9 per cent interest from April 4, 1998, till its realisation. The airline was further directed to pay Rs. 2,000 as costs.

In his case before the court, Mr. Chaudhary submitted that despite informing officials in Udaipur about the loss of his suitcase, the airline staff was not sympathetic. He claimed that he even filed a First Information Report (FIR) at the police station, but nothing was done.

For its part the airline stated that the complaint was false and frivolous and filed with the motive of gaining undue monetary benefit. It submitted that was no irregularity with respect to any baggage had been reported by any of the passengers on that day. Having the counterfoil of the baggage identification tag did not entitle Mr. Chaudhary to claim compensation as they were issued for identification of baggage, the airline argued.

After going through all the evidence, a bench of the district consumer redressal forum stated that the contention of Indian Airlines that no FIR had been lodged nor intimation sent out within 14 days was not bona fide, as Mr. Chaudhary had submitted that there was no official at the airport who sympathised with his situation.

The bench further said the fact that Mr. Chaudhary was in possession of his baggage tags indicates that the bag was not delivered to him, otherwise it would have been destroyed by the airline or it would have retained it.