BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES

REDRESSAL FORUM, JALANDHAR.

Complaint No.197 of 2016

Date of Instt. 02.05.2016

Date of Decision: 14.11.2018

William John, aged 56 years, S/o Sh. Rehmat Masih, resident of V.P.O. Gakhal, Tehsil & Distt. Jalandhar-144002.

..........Complainant

Versus

1. M/s Air India, Through its Managing Director, 502, Westend Mall, Chatrapati Shivaji Marg, Janak Puri District Centre, Janak Puri, New Delhi-110058.

2. Air India, Head Office, Safdarjang Airport, Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-110003.

3. Air India (H. O. ), M. K. International Hotel, Amritsar, Punjab.

….….. Opposite Parties

Complaint Under the Consumer Protection Act.

Before: Sh. Karnail Singh (President)

Smt. Harvimal Dogra (Member)

Present: Mrs. Neeraj, Adv Counsel for the Complainant.

Sh. Umesh Dhingra, Adv and Sh. Karan Singh, Adv Counsels for the OPs.

Order

Karnail Singh (President)

1. This complaint has been presented by the complainant with the plea that he booked his Air-ticket of Airline of the OPs through E-Ticket bearing No.0989793835454 on 07.12.2015 for traveling to Amritsar to England via Delhi. The complainant traveled in the Airlines of the OPs on 12.12.2015 at 22:00 hours from Amritsar to England (Heathrow) by Air India Flight No.A1-115 on 12.12.2015 at 22:00 Hours via New Delhi and reached England (Heathrow) Airport at 06:30 Hours on 13.12.2015

2. That on reaching Heathrow Airport (UK), the complainant could not find his bag in which the complainant carry gifts and clothings for the relatives as per Air India Receipt No.SEO No.41-1/19 (A1-880986/0098880986. The complainant filed a complaint with Air India Office at Heathrow Airport, England for missing of the bag of the complainant. Inspite of several visits made by the complainant at Air India Office, Heathrow Airport, England, while he was in England and inspite of his regular telephone calls even after reaching India also, but the complainant did not receive his lost bag from the OPs till date. The complainant suffered a great loss and suffered inconvenience as he did not receive his bag containing the gifts and clothing and other things or the compensation from the OPs. The detail of the lost goods in the baggage is as under:-

3. That the complainant kept on confirming the status of his luggage from the airport authorities till date, but they kept on lingering the matter on one pretext or the other for the reasons best known to them. The above act of the airport authorities caused grave harassment and humiliation to the complainant, which is also amounts to deficiency in service and caused mental and physical harassment to the complainant and also caused financial loss. When the OP did not hear the complainant despite number of visits and telephone calls, then complainant got issued a legal notice dated 30.03.2016 through his counsel, but no answer was given by the OP and as such, necessity arose to file the present complaint with the prayer that the complaint of the complainant may be accepted and OPs be directed to pay the cost of the article lying in the luggage as per the detail given in the complaint and further OPs be directed to pay compensation for mental agony and harassment suffered by the complainant, to the tune of Rs.10,00,000/- and litigation expenses of Rs.11,000/-.

4. Notice of the complaint was given to the OPs and accordingly, all the OPs appeared through its counsel and filed joint reply, whereby contested the complaint by taking preliminary objections that neither there is any deficiency in service nor any unfair trade practice on the part of the OPs. After receiving the information of the alleged missing bag during the travel from Amritsar to England, the complainant was asked by Air India to submit copy of Irregularity Report, Tickets, Baggage Tag, Boarding Pass, Passport Copy/ID, vide Email dated 16.02.2016, but the complainant did not comply with all the requirements. The complainant has filed the present complaint and the same is not maintainable against the OPs. It is further averred that this Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain and try the present complaint because no cause of action has arisen at Jalandhar and therefore, this complaint is liable to be dismissed. On merits, it is admitted that the complainant got the Air-ticket from OP for Amritsar to England via Delhi. It is also not denied that the bag of the complainant was lost rather the OP alleged that some documents were demanded from the complainant, but he failed to submit the same and further alleged that in case the bag of the complainant is not found, then the compensation has to be paid under the Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) as embodied in India for luggage liability limitations. The liability for checked missing luggage is limited according to the Article 17(2) of MC 99. The Air India London are making their best efforts for searching the baggage and as such, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the OPs and the complainant has unnecessarily filed the complaint at Jalandhar for the purpose extracting compensation. The other allegations as made in the complaint are categorically denied and lastly prayed that the complaint of the complainant is without merits and the same may be dismissed.

5. In order to prove the case of the complainant, the complainant himself tendered into evidence his affidavit Ex.CW1/A along with some documents Ex.C-1 to Ex.C-12 and then closed the evidence.

6. Similarly, counsel for OPs tendered into evidence affidavit Ex.OP1/A along with document Ex.OP-1 and closed the evidence.

7. We have heard the learned counsel for the respective parties and also gone through the case file very minutely.

8. Before considering the main controversy between the parties in this complaint, we like to take up the legal issue raised by the OP that this Forum has no jurisdiction, in order to give strength to this objection, the learned counsel for the OP could not able to satisfy this Forum how this Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain and try the present complaint. Virtually, the complainant has alleged that he purchased Air-ticket of Airlines through E-Ticket, if the complainant purchased the ticket through internet from Jalandhar, then cause of action is obviously has arisen at Jalandhar and thus, the District Forum, Jalandhar has jurisdiction to entertain the present complaint and therefore, we find that there is no solid substances in the argument of learned counsel for the OP, therefore, the version of the OP is not stand in the eyes of law.

9. Coming to the main issue in dispute, whether the luggage of the complainant was lost while he was traveling in the Air India Flight from Amritsar to England via Delhi. The factum in regard to loss of the bag is not denied by the OP rather the OP in preliminary objection admitted that after receiving the information of the alleged missing bag of the complainant and complainant was asked to submit some documents i.e. Irregularity Report, Tickets, Baggage Tag, Boarding Pass and copy of passport through email and accordingly, as per version of the complainant, he submitted all the documents to the OP, but despite that neither his bag has been returned nor compensation of the article lying therein, is paid to the complainant and accordingly, the complainant came to this Forum for seeking justice as well as direction to the OP to pay the compensation of the lost article. The OP also admitted in the written reply in Para No.3 on merits that in case the bag is not found, then compensation has to be paid under the Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) as embodied in India for luggage liability limitations. In order to facilitate the above submission, the OP has not brought on the file any Montreal Convention 1999 record, where from we can assess that how much compensation can be granted to the complainant.

10. So for the question of the article lying in the lost bag is concerned, same is established by the complainant by filing his own affidavit that the cost of total article lying in the bag is about Rs.1,21,100/-, no doubt, the OP has controverted this amount simply stating that the complainant was allowed to carry 90 KG weight in the Airline and the article having a cost of Rs.1,21,100/- must be having more weight than 90 KG, which is permissible. We find that this submission of the OP having no weightage because the complainant alleged that the article are simply stitched and un-stitched clothes and the weight of such like clothes as well as medicines cannot be calculated more than 19 KG and therefore, the plea taken by the OP is again not established and factum in regard to loss of the bag of the complainant is established and regarding that the complainant submitted a claim Ex.C-4, but the same has not been decided by the OP till date and as such, we are of the opinion that complainant is entitled for the relief claimed and therefore, the complaint of the complainant is partly accepted and OPs are directed to pay the cost of the article lying in the luggage i.e. Rs.1,21,100/- and also directed to pay compensation for causing mental harassment to the complainant, to the tune of Rs.25,000/- and litigation expenses of Rs.5000/-. The entire compliance be made within one month from the date of receipt of the copy of order. This complaint could not be decided within stipulated time frame due to rush of work.

11. Copies of the order be supplied to the parties free of cost, as per Rules. File be indexed and consigned to the record room.

Dated Harvimal Dogra Karnail Singh

14.11.2018 Member President