Association demands govt. to appoint special judge for compensation case

September 18, 2011

Mangalore, September 18: The members of Mangalore Air India crash victims' Families Association have demanded the government to appoint a special judge to hear the compensation case between Air India and the legal heirs of victims of last year's aviation disaster.

A meeting organised by the Association here on Sunday to discuss its next course of action, concluded with a resolution to go ahead with the legal battle for a 'just compensation'.

The meeting comes in the wake of recent judgement of a divisional bench of the Kerala High Court, which overturned a single judge's verdict holding that Air India was bound to pay a minimum compensation of one-lakh Special Drawing Right (SDR), roughly Rs.75 lakh, each to the legal heirs of the victims.

The single judge's verdict had come on a writ petition filed by Kasargod based Abdul Salam, whose 24 year old son B Mohammed Rafi was killed in the crash.

Abdul Salam's lawyer Kodoth Sreedharan, who was present at the meeting, said that the former has already filed a petition before Kerala High Court seeking to review its recent judgment upholding Air India's appeal.

“The judgment on review petition is expected soon, following which we will decide on our next course of action after” Mr Sreedharan said, adding that if the judgment remained unchanged, the door of apex court is always open.

He pointed out that the divisional bench's judgment ignored the convention, statutes and principles of no fault liability. “It (judgment) defies basic common sense,'' he added.

Soon after the divisional bench's judgment on review petition, the Association would convene another meeting to take a final decision, said Mohammad Beary, president of the Association.

“In Sunday's meeting, the Association has taken few important decisions including demanding the government to appoint a special judge to hear this case”, he said.

Stating that Abdul Salam's case is crucial for the Association, he said all the legal heirs of crash victims would move the apex court, if it was necessary, as it would be difficult for a single person to take the legal battle against mighty Air India to the highest level.

The Association has urged all the legal heirs of the crash victims to come forward to share the expenses required to continue the legal battle.

Till date, the AI counsel has settled 62 cases and partially settled six claims at Rs 50.96 crore. Of the 62 cases, 22 have been settled for more than one lakh SDR. In the rest of the cases below one lakh SDR there are children also.

An Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the Mangalore table-top runway and fell off a cliff while landing on May 22, 2010, killing 158 people. The flight's cockpit voice recorder data showed that the instrument had picked up snoring sounds indicating that the Serbian pilot Captain Zlatko Glusica had slept off for about 90 minutes and failed to pull up the plane after it lost control. He also ignored advice of his co-pilot.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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