HIGH COURT STAYS THE ORDER OF COMPENSATION TO AIR LINE PASSENGERS GIVEN BY STATE CONSUMER REDRESSAL FORUM

HC stays stiff fine on airline21 Dec 2007, 0308 hrs IST,TNN

Keeping with the trend of orders by the State Consumer Commission being stayed due to its jurisdiction being challenged, Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed a consumer commission order against GoAir airline. The commission had ordered the firm which operates the no-frills airline GoAir to pay Rs 15,000 to each passenger of a flight that was cancelled due to a technical snag. The order had come on the petition of one affected consumer who claimed the cancellation cost him harassment and mental agony. However, justice Pradeep Nandrajog stayed the order on a petition filed by GoAirlines challenging the commission’s jurisdiction. HC also issued notice to Yogesh Kumar, on whose petition the commission had passed its order and directed him to respond by April next year. Senior advocate Rajiv Nayyar, appearing for the airline, contended that state commission has no power to proceed in such a sweeping fashion under section 14 (1)(hb) of the Consumer Protection Act 1986. Even if such a power existed, the commission could not have decided to extend the benefit of its order to all other passengers of the flight without giving the airline an opportunity to defend itself, the advocate argued. Criticising the commission further, Nayyar contended the commission failed to take into account that the consumer Yogesh Kumar had failed to provide his contact number as required during the booking of the flight. The petitioner also argued that the commission completely ignored the terms and conditions which had been accepted by Kumar before booking the ticket. On November 12, the commission had passed the order in connection with a compensation application filed by Kumar, passenger of the cancelled flight. Apart from awarding relief to the complainant, the commission went on to extend the benefit of its order to all other passengers of the flight who couldn’t travel due to cancellation of flight but who had not approached the commission for relief. Kumar had awarded a compensation of Rs 17,000 by district forum, which was challenged in the commission by the airline which maintained that since Kumar had bought the ticket from an agent, who was duly informed about the cancellation, no liability could be imputed on it.