HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT S. SHAH

These appeals and Cross Objections are directed against the judgment and decree dated 24th March, 2003 passed by the City Civil Court, Ahmedabad in Civil Suit No. 5671 of 1992 which was filed by Mr Ashok D. Agrawal, for compensation of Rs.5 crores on account of the injuries sustained by him at age of 30 years in an air crash near the Ahmedabad Airport on 19th October, 1988 involving an aircraft of the Indian Airlines Corporation in which the plaintiff was traveling as a passenger.

The trial Court awarded compensation to the tune of Rs.61,00,000/- with interest at the rate of 6% per annum. The trial Court held the Indian Airlines Corporation (“the Indian Airlines”) and the Airport Authority of India (“the Airport Authority”) liable to pay the compensation amount in ratio of 70 : 30 respectively.

BASIC FACTS & HISTORY OF LITIGATION

2. The aircraft involved in the accident was a basic series Boeing 737 Aircraft VT-EAH and was on its daily schedule flight IC-113 from Bombay to Ahmedabad in the morning of 19.10.1988. The aircraft was carrying on board 135 persons including 6 crew members (pilot, co-pilot and 4 cabin crew) and 129 passengers (124 adults + 5 children). The flight took off from Bombay at 06.05 hours in the morning. The pilot reported overhead of Ahmedabad at 0647 IST. The aircraft crashed on the outskirts of village Chiloda - Kotarpur, near Noble Nagar Housing Society, near Ahmedabad. The plane crashed at a distance of 2540 metres from the

beginning of runway 23 on extended central line of the runway in a paddy field at 6.53 hours in the morning. In this air crash 124 passengers and 6 crew including pilot and co-pilot lost their lives on the spot. 5 passengers escaped with serious injuries, but 3 of them succumbed to the injuries later on in the hospital. 2 passengers survived, viz. Mr Vinod Rewa Shankar Tripathi and the present plaintiff. Mr Ashok Agarwal. Thus in all, out of 135 persons on board, 133 persons including the plaintiff's wife and daughter lost their life.

3. These appeals arise from one of the civil suits filed for compensation claimed in respect of death of 35 passengers and injuries to one passenger, who were travelling in the said Indian Airlines flight which crashed near the Ahmedabad Airport on 19th October, 1988. The suits filed in different Courts were ordered to be tried by the City Civil Court at Ahmedabad.

4. The trial Court held that the accident took place on account of the composite negligence of the Indian Airlines and its employees on the one hand and the Airport Authority and its employees on the other hand in the ratio of 70 : 30 respectively. After giving this common finding in all the suits, the trial Court rendered separate judgments in all the suits quantifying the amounts of compensation and awarded interest at the rate of 6% per annum. The separate judgments of the trial Court, therefore, gave rise to appeals by the Indian Airlines as well as appeals by the Airport Authority and also appeals/cross objections filed by the plaintiffs for enhancement of the compensation amount and/or for enhancing the rate of interest and also for costs of the suits and costs of the appeals.

5. First Appeal No. 1269 of 2004 is filed by the Airport Authority. Cross Objections 30 of 2009 are filed by the original plaintiff claiming higher rate of interest. First Appeal No. 2760 of 2004 is filed by the Indian Airlines Corporation which, during pendency of the appeals, has become National Aviation Company of India Ltd.

6. In the appeals filed by the Airport Authority, at the time of admission of the appeals, interim stay against execution of the decrees was granted upon condition of depositing the amounts for which the trial Court had fixed its liability. The condition was complied with.

7. As far as the Indian Airlines is concerned, the stand of the Airlines is that its liability for damage sustained in the event of death of or injury to a passenger is lim