A serving Indian Air Force pilot who was injured in a MiG-21 crash in 2005 was awarded ₹55 lakh as compensation by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday for being exposed to “unreasonable risk”.
Holding that manufacturing defects and faulty workmanship of the fighter jet had led to the crash, a Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Deepa Sharma asked the government to pay ₹5 lakh and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) ₹50 lakh to Wing Commander Sanjeet Singh Kaila, 46, within four weeks.
Through his counsel Bharat S. Kumar, Mr. Kaila, who is now posted at Nasik, had sought compensation on account of “violation of his fundamental right to life, especially the right to work in a safe environment” under Article 21.
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Seeks apology
He moved the High Court in 2013, seeking a direction to the Centre and the HAL to issue a formal apology. He sought guidelines for the manufacturing company to avoid such incidents in future.
Allowing his plea for compensation, the court noted that putting the officers of the armed forces above what was “expected to be normal risk” was against the fundamental right to life, especially the right to work in a safe environment guaranteed by the Constitution.
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Poor record
The Bench said the HAL was liable to compensate him for “exposing him to more than reasonable risk”.
The Russian-origin fighter aircraft has been often referred to as the “Flying Coffin” and “widow-maker” because of its poor safety record.
It was the first time a crash survivor has taken on the government seeking redress. A regular flight exercise in 2005 went awry, leaving Mr. Kaila with debilitating neck and back pain that has rendered him unfit for flying and even day-to-day activities.
Making him fly a MiG-21, which crashed in Rajasthan on January 4, 2005, amounted to “violation of his fundamental right to life”, he had told the court earlier.
Goes up in flames
In his plea, Mr. Kaila had said he was posted at the Air Force Station Nal in Rajasthan as a Squadron Leader in 2005. On January 4 that year, he embarked on a regular flight exercise along with three other pilots.
“Immediately after take-off, the petitioner experienced a drift to the left side of the aircraft. Simultaneously, the petitioner was informed by the other pilot flying the second aircraft, of a fire at the rear end of his aircraft. Assessing the emergency, the petitioner promptly carried out all the essential directives and got the tyres of the aircraft down for a landing,” the petition had said.
“The petitioner performed all the aforementioned actions despite the rear of the aircraft being engulfed in thick fire. Despite a near-complete engine/control failure and at grave risk to his own life, the petitioner continued to stay put in an almost uncontrollable aircraft so as to steer it away to safety from a nearby village ... To save human life, the petitioner ejected only seconds before the crash of the aircraft.”
Mr. Kaila said following the incident, he was injured and later forced to discontinue flying after a comprehensive medical examination showed he was suffering from cervicalgia and disc bulges of the vertebrae (cervical spine).