Thiruvananthapuram, August 25: In a setback for families of victims of last year's Mangalore air crash, a division bench of the Kerala High Court today overruled a single judge bench order asking air India to pay Rs. 75 lakh as minimum compensation to families of victims.
Last month, the single judge bench had ruled that Air India is liable to pay 'no fault liability' of Rs. 75 lakh to each of the victims as laid down in the Montreal convention to which India is a signatory.
One hundred fifty eight people had died in the air crash on May 22 last year.
Overruling the single judge bench order, the court held that Air India is not liable to pay 'no fault liability' and has asked the airline and the crash victims to negotiate and reach a settlement regarding the compensation.
Interestingly, Air India had gone for appeal despite initial assurances from the Civil Aviation Minister that the airline would not do so.
Counsel for victims say they will go for appeal at a higher court.
An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 airliner from Dubai carrying 166 people crashed outside Bajpe Airport in Mangalore on May 22, 2010 and burst into flames after overshooting a table-top runway and plunging into forest below.
Air India Express is the budget arm of the loss-ridden state-run carrier Air India, which has been fending off growing competition from private airlines.
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