Indian Airlines told to pay Rs 75K for baggage loss

Indian Airlines has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 75,000 to a passenger whose luggage was lost when he had gone to Bangkok from Delhi to attend a wedding.
The South West District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held the airline liable to pay the amount as it had "badly failed" to locate the lost bag of the complainant and said the same amounts to deficiency in service.
"The opposite party (Indian Airlines) has badly failed to trace out the lost baggage of the complainant which amounts to deficiency in service for which the complainant is entitled to be reasonably compensated," a bench presided by Narendra Kumar said.

The bench directed the airline to pay Rs 40,000 to Delhi resident Nisar Ahmed towards the value of the wedding related items in the lost bag, along with Rs 35,000 as compensation and cost of litigation.
The order came on a complaint by Ahmed that when he had travelled by Indian Airlines from Delhi to Bangkok in June 2006 to attend a wedding there, one of his bags, containing items worth over Rs 47,000 meant for the marriage, was lost by the airline.
Despite his complaints, several visits to the office of the airline and sending a legal notice, his grievance was not addressed, Ahmed alleged.

Indian Airlines had sought dismissal of the complaint, saying Ahmed had informed it about the lost bag nine hours after the flight landed and added that he had not declared the value of the articles in the lost bag at the time of boarding.
The forum, however, rejected the airline's contention as "not acceptable".