The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has upheld a directive of the Malappuram district forum to Air India and the Emigration Department to pay a compensation of Rs.5 lakh to a passenger who had to face hardships due to deficiency of their services.
The commission headed by its president P.R. Barkathali, however, set aside the directive of the forum to pay Rs.1 lakh to the Child Welfare Scheme of the Chief Minister. The commission said that there was no provision for awarding such payment to the welfare fund.
The verdict was passed while dismissing the appeals filed by the Airports Authority of India and the director of the Calicut airport, challenging the directives of the district forum.
The forum issued the order while allowing a complaint filed by Adeep Nabeel Ahammed of Mangalore.
According to him, the incident took place in April 2002 when he was 12 years old. He travelled unaccompanied to Jeddah on that day on an Air India flight to visit his mother employed there.
He had with him all the travel documents including passport.
However, when he landed at Jeddah, the airport authorities detained him at the airport for a day and sent him back next day on the ground that his passport was not stamped with visa.
State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upholds directive of Malappuram district forum to pay Rs.5 lakh to a passenger for deficiency in service
