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Pay Rs25,000 to passenger for damaged luggage: Consumer forum to Air India

In the baggage there were two art pieces, wooden elephants, worth Rs 18,500.

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Air India has been ordered by a consumer forum to pay Rs25,000 as compensation to one of its passengers for damaging his luggage containing gifts for his Chicago-based friend during his 2008 trip to the US.

A Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, headed by its President CK Chaturvedi, asked the state carrier to compensate city resident Rakesh Kumar Gupta, rejecting its plea that as per the 1929 Warsaw Convention, it had only limited liability for damaged luggage.

The court rejected Air India's contention and said the airlines did not bother to pay even "that limited liability in time."

"Why Air India had not disposed off that liability within the time period? The complainant took the journey in June 2008 and the case was filed in 2009 and till today the airlines has not come out with that limited liability. They should have offered some amount to fulfill its limited liability," the bench said.

The consumer forum directed Air India to pay Rs20,000 compensation for damaged baggage and harassment and mental agony along with Rs 5,000 as cost of litigation to Gupta. Gupta had moved the consumer court saying he took a flight from Delhi to Chicago via London in June 2008. He had booked eight pieces of luggage as check-in baggage but on landing at Chicago, he did not receive his baggage.

Gupta told the consumer forum that seven missing baggages were delivered to him at Chicago but the eighth piece was delivered with a delay of about one week in a totally damaged condition.

He claimed that in the baggage there were two art pieces, wooden elephants, worth Rs 18,500 which he was taking as gift for his friend.

The complainant contacted the airlines in the USA and lodged a complaint but no action was taken. He made further attempts after returning India and demanded the cost of the damaged pieces and transportation of a new pair of the elephants at the destination free of cost.

In reply to the petition, the airlines sought to invoke the Warsaw Convention which limits the liability of carriers on luggage and art pieces.

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