NAVNITLAL PURSHOTTAMDAS BAROT Vs. INDIAN AIRLINES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE appeals are directed against the judgment and decree dated 29. 10. 2005 passed by the City Civil Court, Ahmedabad in Civil Suit No. 859 of 1996 and Civil Suit No. 1506 of 1993 filed by the in-laws and parents of Smt. Ushaben Bhagwatprasad Rao, who died at the age of 34 years in an air crash near the Ahmedabad airport on 19. 10. 1988 involving the aircraft of the Indian Airlines Corporation in which the deceased was travelling as a passenger along with her husband Bhagwatprasad Rao and two minor sons Jaykrishna aged 7 years and Jeet aged 6 years. While parents of Bhagwatprasad Rao filed four separate suits being Civil Suit No. 858 to 861 of 1996 for claiming compensation as the heirs and dependents of each of the above-named four family members, the parents of Ushaben filed Civil Suit No. 1506 of 1993 claiming compensation on account of the death of Ushaben and her two minor sons.

(2.) SECTION 5 of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 under which the above-numbered proceedings were filed, provides that the rules contained in the First Schedule and in the Second Schedule of the Act determine the liability of the air carrier in respect of the death of a passenger and that the liability shall be enforceable for the benefit of such of the members of the passenger's family as sustained damage by reason of his death. As per the definition of "member of a family given in the Explanation of Section 5 (2), the expression includes spouse, parent, child and grand-child. Sub-sections (3), (4) and (5) of Section 5 read as under :-

(3.) IN view of the above provisions, the in-laws of Ushaben filed application Exh. 82 for joining them as parties in Civil Suit No. 1506 of 1993 and also requesting that the plaintiffs in Civil Suit No. 1506 of 1993 (parents of Smt. Ushaben) may also be joined as parties in Civil Suit Nos. 858 to 861 of 1996. The City Civil Court, Ahmedabad granted the said application which order was challenged by the parents of Smt. Ushaben in Special Civil Application No. 11847 of 2002. The said petition was disposed of by order dated 11. 10. 2004 and with the consent of the parties, this Court directed that all the five civil suits shall be consolidated and that before disbursing any amount of compensation, the Court shall hear the parents as well as in-laws of Smt. Ushaben.