NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION NEW DELHI ORIGINAL PETITION NO. 149 of 1999 Jaswant Rai Chopra & Anr. Complainants Vs. Air Canada Opposite Party BEFORE: HONBLE MR. JUSTICE D.P. WADHWA PRESIDENT MRS. RAJYALAKSHMI RAO, MEMBER MR. B.K. TAIMNI, MEMBER HONBLE MR. JUSTICE K.S. GUPTA, MEMBER Air travel deficiency in service complained by father and daughter. It was the father who travelled to Canada. Alleging harassment, humiliation, inconvenience to him by the airlines, father died during the pendency of complaint held right to sue does not survive under Section 6 of Transfer to Property Act, 1882 claim of transfer of sue also not maintainable as her suffering on account of her fathers suffering is too remote. Complaint dismissed. For the Complainants : Mr. T.N. Razdan, Advocate For Opposite Party : Mr. K.N. Tripathy, Advocate Dated 21st February, 2003 O R D E R
Per Honble Mr. Justice D.P. Wadhwa, President
This is a complaint alleging negligence by Air Canada, an
International Air Carrier. There are
two Complainants Ist Complainant Jaswant Rai Chopra was the passenger and 2nd
Complainant Saroj Kapoor is his daughter and also his Attorney. There is a claim of Rs. 25 lacs as compensation for the
harassment and humiliation which Chopra suffered on account of willful
negligence on the part of Air Canada.
Saroj Chopra also suffered a great deal because of the harassment and
humiliation caused to her father.
During the pendency
of the Complainant, Jaswant Rai Chopra died.
Air Canada, while
denying any act of negligence on its part, has raised two preliminary
objections one, that complaint cannot proceed since Jaswant Rai Chopra has
died and two, that only the Court in Canada would have jurisdiction in the
matter.
To understand the
controversy, a brief resume of facts is required. Shorn of unnecessary details, Jaswant Rai Chopra took a flight
from Delhi to go to Toronto. Air
journey was in two laps- first, from Delhi to Frankfurt by Air India and
second, from Frankfurt to Toronto by Air Canada. Jaswant Rai Chopra was 78 years of age and was traveling
alone. He reached Frankfurt by Air
India Flight on 12.2.1998. Thereafter,
he boarded the plane of Air Canada at Frankfurt which was to take him to
Toronto. To his great humiliation and
shock, crew of the Air Canada offloaded him at Frankfurt. There was no cause to do so. Jaswant Rai Chopra felt great embarrassment
in the eyes of his co-passengers as well.
He was not given any cause as to why he was made to deplane. At Toronto he was to be received by his
son. When Jaswant Rai Chopra was not a
passenger by the Air Canada Flight on which he was due to reach Toronto his son
panicked and tried to contact his sister, complainant No. 2. There was call from the office of the
Lufthansa Airways, also an International Air Carrier, to Saroj Kapoor,
complainant No. 2, to get in touch with her father at Frankfurt. When Saroj Kapoor talked to her father while
he was at Frankfurt, Jaswant Rai Chopra told her about the humiliation,
harassment and embarrassment caused to him by the crew of Air Canada. This made Saroj Kapoor also suffer because
of the indignation, humiliation and embarrassment caused to her father. That is how she is also co-complainant in
the Complaint.
Stand of the Air
Canada has been that international Air Travel Rules make is mandatory for an
Airline to provide an attendant to a person who is in need of the same and it
was necessary to provide an attendant to Jaswant Rai Chopra. But it was not shown as to why it was
necessary. Air Canada says Jaswant Rai
Chopra did not understand English and he himself represented that he had
difficulty in attending natures calls and having his meals all by
himself. Since air Canada lacked
facilities of an attendant, arrangements were made by it for Chopra to travel
by Flight of the Lufthansa Airlines. It
is stated that for this reason Jaswant Rai Chopra was deplaned.
Complainants have
said that the plea put forward by Air Canada is nothing but cock-and bull story. There was no question of Jaswant Rai Chopra
not understanding English language or was in need for any help. Jaswant Rai Chopra was a retired manager of
Punjab national bank and had conducted transactions in English. When he came to India by air he managed his
affairs himself and it was wrongful on the part of the crew of air Canada to
refuse him to travel with an escort and offload him. There appears to be substance in what the complainants say. But since we are not proceeding with the
complaint because Jaswant Rai Chopra has died we will say no more on the
subject.
As far as the
reference of suffering caused to Saroj
Kapoor is concerned, it is too remote for us to go into that and to award her
compensation. One can certainly
understand her suffering when she found her father stranded at Frankfurt for no
fault of his on account of negligence and improper behavior of Air Canada. She did get a shock but then as we said her claim for damage is remote as
there is no consideration that passed from her to airline for which she could
be compensated. She is not a consumer.
As far as Jaswant
Rai Chopra is concerned, the cause of action which he brought by filing this
Complaint was pursuant to his sufferings.
Since he has died, his complaint is hit my maxim actio personalis
moritur cum persona i.e. a personal action dies with the death of the
person. Claim of compensation made by
Jaswant Rai Chopra is not a chosen in action.
It is not inheritable and assignable.
Such a claim is not a property u/s 6 of the Transfer of Property Act,
1882.
Section 6 of the
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 reads as follows:-
6. What may be transferred Property of any kind may be transferred, except as otherwise
provided by this Act or by any other
law for the time being in force,-
(a) to [(dd)]
(e) A mere right to sue cannot be transferred.
We have not
been shown by the Air Canada any provision under the Carriage By Air Act, 1972
which bars the jurisdiction of this Commission in trying this Complaint.
However, this question is left open.
Accordingly, this Complaint fails and is dismissed.
J.
(D.P. WADHWA)
PRESIDENT
..
(RAJYALAKSHMI RAO)
MEMBER
.
(B.K. TAIMNI)
MEMBER
(K.S.GUPTA)
MEMBER