Mangalore: Kerala High Court to decide on pay-out amount for air crash victims today

TNN

Mangalore, 20 July 2011: It’s judgment day for majority of the air crash victims’ families, who have been demanding higher compensation than what is being doled out by the Air India legal counsel.

 

The Kerala High Court in Ernakulam on Wednesday will deliver its judgment on whether one lakh Special Drawing Rights (SDR), roughly Rs 72 lakh, is the minimum or not. The judgment will be delivered by Justice P R Ramachandra Menon at 10.15am.

 

This issue has been the bone of contention between Air India legal counsel and the Mangalore Air Crash Victims’ Families Association, set up to fight the cause of victims of IX812 crash. The association claim Montreal convention mandates one lakh SDR and not `up to one lakh SDR’.

 

Association president Mohammed Beary admitted the verdict will hold the key to their woes. The writ petition (WP32550 of 2010) was filed by Abdul Salam from Kasargod who lost his son Mohammed Rafi in the crash. He was offered
Rs 35 lakh as compensation, but refused it.

 

Though everybody expected the judgment to be out on the first anniversary of the crash, when the high court resumed after summer vacations, it was not to be.

 

Association lawyer Kodoth Sreedharan told TOI: ``We are certain that it will be in our favour as Montreal Convention mandates it. Up to one lakh SDR the airline has no defence in case of death, even without negligence," he added. In case they feel that decision is not in their favour, they will appeal before a division bench, he added.

 

Advocate and solicitor Hoshang D Nanavati from Mulla & Mulla said that he will take a call on the next step based on the judgment and also on his clients (Air India) instructions. SDR value is based on a basket of currencies and fluctuates between Rs 68 to Rs 72 per SDR.

 

Unhappy with the compensation package, the association had engaged the services of Swedish law firm Advokaterna Liman & Partners, a mid-size independent Swedish law firm, for settlement of compensation claims on March 13 this year to settle the issue in the international court.