Pay Rs 1 Lakh to passenger for preponing flight: Commission

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The National Consumer Commission
has asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to pay Rs one lakh
as compensation to a passenger who claimed that he lost his
job after his fight was preponed without prior intimation.
The Commission held the state government guilty of
deficiency in service by preponing a flight's department
without intimation to its passengers.
The apex consumer court directed it to pay Rs one lakh as
compensation to the passenger who claimed he lost his job as
he could not report to office on time on his first day after
missing the flight.
The Commission passed the order on a plea of Pawan Hans
Helicopters Limited, challenging Arunachal Pradesh State
Consumer Commission's direction to the state and the company
to pay the complainant, Pasang Dorji Sona, a sum of Rs 4.60
lakh jointly and severally.
"We are of the view that preponing the departure time of
the flight on October 8, 2001 by 40 minutes without prior
intimation to all persons who held confirmed tickets, amounted
to deficiency in service," the Commission, comprising Members
Justice R C Jain and Anupam Dasgupta, said.
It said a compensation of Rs one lakh towards the cost of
tickets for the air journeys and other costs incurred by the
complainant as also because of the physical harassment
and mental tension caused to him, would meet the ends of
justice in the present case.
But, it refused to consider that such compensation could
be linked in any way to the alleged loss of future income to
the complainant.

Earlier, Pawan Hans contended that it had no liability
towards passengers.
The helicopter service company contended that the state
government had taken the said helicopter on lease from
Pawan Hans and it was the state government which collected
fare from the passengers and managed the flight timings and
destinations connecting Naharlagun to Guwahati.
"If there was any deficiency in service in operating the
flight that adversely affected his interest, the liability
could not be fastened on Pawan Hans which operated the flight
as an agent of the state government in accordance with the
latter's instructions on flight departure timings," the public
sector company said.
The Commission agreed with the Pawan Hans' contention
and cleared it from any deficiency in service.
The Arunachal Pradesh government, however, argued on the
lines of complainant's contributory negligence, absence of
evidence establishing loss claimed to have been suffered by
him and consequent excessiveness of the amount awarded by the
State Commission, which was rejected by the apex consumer
commission. PTI WDA
JVN