New Delhi: Two doctors have written a letter to Chief Justice of India BR Gavai urging the Supreme Court to take a suo motu cognisance of the June 12 crash of the Air India Flight AI 171 at Ahmedabad, direct the concerned authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the crash incident and take appropriate action to prevent such incidents in future and direct Centre to disburse the compensation to the families of the victims at the earliest.
A London-bound Air India plane, having 242 people on board, including passengers and cabin crew, crashed within few minutes after take off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12.
Two doctors – Dr Saurav Kumar and Dr Dhruv Chauhan – have urged the court to take suo motu cognisance of the June 12 crash incident and direct the Centre to immediately announce and disburse interim compensation of Rs 50 lakh to each family of the deceased victims, including the resident doctors present at BJMC Medical College, Ahmedabad.
The letter has urged to ascertain compensation taking into consideration a top court 2020 verdict in Triveni Kodkany vs Air India Ltd, which dealt with the Mangalore plane crash in 2010 and laid down guidelines on compensation.
“Direct the central government to constitute a high-level expert committee comprising retired Supreme Court/High Court judges, aviation experts, actuaries and economists to asses and awrd final compensation to the families of victim, taking into consideration the principles laid down in Triveni Kodkany vs Air India Ltd and other relevant precents,” the two doctors have written in the letter to the CJI.
The two doctors have further sought a direction to Air India Limited to expedite the settlement of compensation claims without requiring families to undergo prolonged litigation and a direction to the Centre to provide additional rehabilitation support, including employment opportunities to eligible family members of the deceased.
