Thiruvananthapuram: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has partly allowed an appeal by Air India and modified a Rs 15 lakh payout to three RBI officials ordered by a lower commission. The three men were prevented from boarding the flight from Lakshadweep in spite of possessing valid tickets. They will now get Rs 1 lakh each. Earlier, Kerala State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (KSCDRC) has ordered to pay Rs 5 lakh each as compensation.
The complaint was filed by A. Madhaswamy, Gopalakrishnan Nair and V.K. Narayan, officers of Banking Ombudsman, RBI, Thiruvananthapuram. The trio was in possession of confirmed tickets booked by their Bank from Agatti Island in Lakshadweep to Trivandrum on May 10, 2014, on flight AI 9502. But the airline staffers said their names were not on the reservation list and refused the boarding passes. Due to issues in mobility and accommodation facilities in Agatti, they were forced to use helicopter services before returning to Kochi. With this, they approached KSCDRC.
The airline defended the lapse claiming it happened because they migrated from one flight management software to another. State commission ruled in RBI officials' favour, and the flag carrier moved the NCDRC, which condoned the appeal in spite of delays. It was ordered that the Rs 3 lakh be released from the funds that Air India had deposited with the commission. Advocate Sreevaraham N.G. Mahesh appeared for RBI officials at NCDRC.
