( 1 ) THIS is an appeal by the defendant, Indian Airlines Corporation, from the judgment and decree of P. C. Mallick, J. decreeing the plaintiffs' suit for the sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- and another sum of Rs. 5000/- with interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum and with costs.

( 2 ) THE suit arises out of an unfortunate and tragic air crash at Nagpur when a Dakota air plane VT-CHF crashed soon after it started flying from Nagpur to Madras. All the passengers and the crew were killed and the only person who escaped with severe injuries and burns was the Pilot, Desmond Arthur James Cartner. This accident took place on the 12th December, 1953 at about 3-25 a. m.

( 3 ) IN that Aircraft travelled one Sunil Baran Chowdhury, a young man of about 28 years of age, a business man from Calcutta, who had flown from Calcutta to Nagpur and was taking his journey in that ill-fated Aircraft from Nagpur to Madras at the time of the accident. The plaintiffs in this suit arc (1) the widow of the deceased Sunil Baran Chowdhury, (2) his minor son and (3) his minor daughter. The widow as the mother of the minors acted as the next friend in the plaint. The Indian Airlines Corporatio