air india
After a legal battle that lasted for 23 years, passenger P. Sundaraparipoornam finally got justice. Madras High Court has ordered Air India to pay ₹35,000 as compensation to the passenger. This case is of the year 2002, when a hair was found in the food of a passenger in an Air India flight from Colombo to Chennai.
What was the matter of Air India flight?
On July 26, 2002, P. Sundaraparipoornam was traveling on Air India flight IC 574. When he was given food on the flight, it was in a sealed pack. On opening the pack, they saw hair fibers in the food. Seeing this he felt disgusted and fell ill. He wanted to complain in the flight, but there was no complaint box and the staff also did not pay attention.
After reaching Chennai, he gave a written complaint to the Deputy General Manager of Air India. Air India sent a letter expressing regret and assured an investigation. After this, Sundaraparipoornam sent a notice through his lawyer and demanded compensation of ₹ 11 lakh, citing vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. In response, Air India again apologized but said that it was not negligence but could be the fault of the hotel cooking.
Court accepted Air India’s mistake
Air India argued in the court that the food was ordered from Chennai’s Ambassador Pallava Hotel, hence the responsibility lies with the hotel. Also said that when the passenger opened the pack, some other passenger’s hair might have fallen. Madras High Court said that Air India is confused in its own words – on one hand it says that no complaint was made, on the other hand it admits that complaint was made. The court said that Air India itself has admitted that hair was found in the food, hence it is a case of clear negligence.
Aviation company cannot escape responsibility
Applying the legal principle res ipsa loquitur (ie the mistake is self-evident), the court said that the passenger does not need to prove how the mistake happened. It is up to the airline to prove that it had taken full precautions. However, the court held that the passenger did not provide any medical evidence to prove that he suffered serious harm, hence the compensation of ₹1 lakh awarded by the trial court was reduced to ₹35,000. The court said that food is included in the ticket, so even if the food comes from a hotel, the responsibility lies with Air India.
Finally the court ordered that Air India pay ₹35,000 to the passenger within four weeks. This decision made it clear that the responsibility of the airline is not only to ensure safe flight but also to maintain the quality and cleanliness of food and drink.