SC directs for Rs 7.64 crore compensation to Mangalore plane crash victim's family

The Supreme Court has awarded Rs 7.64 crore compensation to the family members of a 45-year old man who got killed in the crash of Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai in Mangaluru on May 22, 2010.

A total of 158 people of the 166 passengers on board perished in the accident.

On a plea by Triveni Kodkany, wife of deceased Mahendra Kodkany, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi disagreed with the reasonings of the NCDRC in making a deduction from the salary of the victim while calculating the compensation.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) had granted the wife, daughter, and son of the deceased Rs 7.35 crore as compensation.

The top court now directed Air India to pay them the enhanced amount along with 9% interest per annum.

Kodkany was an expat and employed as the regional director for the Middle Eastern Region with GTL Overseas (Middle East) FZ-LLC a UAE-based company.

In its judgement, the top court said bifurcation of the salary of the deceased into diverse heads may be made by the employer for a variety of reasons.

However, in a claim for compensation arising out of the death of the employee, the income has to be assessed on the basis of the entitlement of the employee, it said.

The court noted that Kodkany was a confirmed employee entitled to adequate weightage in terms of determination of compensation in the event of untimely demise.