JOIN USAn Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot, who was injured in a MiG-21 crash in 2005, on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking vacation of a stay on a Delhi High Court order that awarded him Rs 55 lakh compensation for being exposed to “unreasonable risk”.
A bench of Justices M M Shantanagoudar and Deepak Gupta said the matter will be listed for July 17 before an appropriate bench.
The counsel appearing for IAF pilot Sanjeet Singh Kaila said he had filed a caveat, but it was not listed before the bench, which passed an ex parte order staying the high court verdict.
The bench said the application for the vacation of the stay would be taken up along with the main matter pending before the court.
The apex court had last month stayed the high court order on a plea by the government and state-owned aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
On May 2, the Delhi High Court granted compensation to the pilot, holding that manufacturing defect and faulty workmanship of the fighter jet had led to the crash.
It had directed the government to pay Rs 5 lakh and HAL to pay Rs 50 lakh to the 46-year-old wing commander within four weeks.Kaila is currently posted at Nashik in Maharashtra. The pilot had sought compensation on account of violation of his fundamental right to life, especially the right to work in a safe environment, under Article 21 of the Constitution.
DH News Service