INDIAN AIRLINES Vs. B.D.SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AN air ticket of appellant -airlines was purchased by the respondent who is an IPS officer for Delhi -Mumbai -Thiruvananthapuram -Delhi. In spite of having been provided the Confirmed status, the respondent was not allowed to board the flight. The reason given by the appellant was overbooking.

(2.) HOLDING the airlines guilty of deficiency in service the District Forum has vide impugned order dated 5.9.2005 directed it to pay compensation of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 2,000 as cost of litigation. Feeling aggrieved the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(3.) STAND of the appellant is that the passengers at airport are entertained on first -cum -first -served basis and, therefore, the respondent was bona fidely denied the boarding card for the flight. However, the respondent and other such passengers were accommodated in another flight to Kochi from where they were provided surface transport upto their destination. A legal objection was also raised by the appellant that the ticket was purchased by the Border Security Force (BSF) as the respondent was posted as Inspector General (Provisioning) and, therefore, main consumer was BSF and without permission of the BSF, complaint was not maintainable.