MOHAMMED RAHIM KHAN Vs. SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mohd.Rahim Khan, Complainant No. 66 of 2004 before the A.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hyderabad has filed this appeal against the order of the State Commission. The State Commission has held that this complaint was filed in November, 2004 in relation to cause of action which arose in June, 1997, after lapse of seven years and therefore it is hopelessly barred by limitation. The State Commission, therefore, dismissed the complaint.

(2.) The appeal against the above order has been filed with a delay of 17 days, which has been condoned and matter taken up for consideration. It is seen from the record of the case that this matter has arisen from an incident of 17.7.1997 at Jeddah Airport when the appellant/complainant was about to commence hisjourney to India by a flight of the respondent Airlines. The case of the complainant is that he had checked in for the flight and had obtained his boarding card when he was suddenly taken into custody and put in the police lock up for nine days. During this period, allegedly, he was subjected to lot of physical and mental torture by the police. His passport, boarding pass and the baggage were taken away by the police, who alleged that he was an agent of the drugs and narcotic b usiness, travelling on a fake ticket.

(3.) According to the complainant, he was later informed that the incident took place because, as per the records of the Saudi authorities, he had pooled his baggage with one Shaik Zyed whosebaggage ticket had been wrongly attached to his boarding pass. He was released after the authorities were convinced that this had happened due to the mistake of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Authority. He finally returned to India on 17.1.1998 but never got his lost baggage. In the complaint filed before the State Commission, the complainant sought total compensation of Rs. 99 lacs (10.5 Million US Dollar) on account of the following: