JOIN USIndiGo told to pay passenger Rs 50,000 for lost suitcase
The Bengaluru district Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum recently passed an order directing Indigo Airlines to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 to a passenger as compensation for losing one of his suitcases which contained valuables.
The passenger was travelling from Chandigarh to Bengaluru via Mumbai and was not able to trace one of his suitcases on arrival at the Kempegowda International Airport.
The passenger, Inderjit Singh, complained that he made repeated visits to Indigo Aviation at the airport premises to find his missing suitcase.
In response to his complaint, Indigo aviation offered him a compensation of only Rs. 3,000 in cash. Inderjit, who was returning from his wedding, said that the suitcase itself was worth more than Rs 7,000 and it contained expensive wedding suits and other valuables worth more than Rs one lakh.
In his petition, he stated that the suitcase had also contained valuable gifts given by elders as part of the marriage tradition. The loss of these gifts had caused him serious mental agony.
Besides undergoing agony, the complainant said that he had to spend for repeated visits to the airlines’ office which only showed the deficiency in the services rendered by the aviation company.
Inderjit has sought a compensation amount of Rs 1,07,000 for the price of the valuables, wedding suits and the cost of the suitcase. Additionally, he has asked to be paid Rs. 30,000 to cover expenses incurred on regular visits to the aviation office and Rs.10,000 as litigation cost.
The forum comprising of President PV Singri and members, M Yashodamma and P K Shantha directed the airlines to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 towards cost of the suitcase, along with compensation amount of Rs 10,000 and litigation cost of Rs 5,000 to the complainant on August 3, 2015.
The forum also directed the airlines to pay within a month’s period. The advocate for the complainant, Varija CJ said that till date Indigo airlines has not replied or appeared before the forum. They are now planning to file an execution petition for the forum’s order to be followed.