Bar & Bench impact: Consumer court decides 5-year-old case filed by Kerala High Court judge, imposes ₹7.5 lakh fine on Qatar Airways

A consumer court in Kerala on Monday imposed a fine of ₹7.5 lakh on Qatar Airways in a 5-year-old complaint filed by a judge of Kerala High Court, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas against the airline for offloading him and his friends from the aircraft despite having valid tickets [Bechu Kurian Thomas v Qatar Airways & Anr.]..The forum ruled that denying permission to passengers holding valid boarding passes from boarding the aircraft, amounts to unfair trade practice and deficiency in service.The District Consumer Redressal Commission at Ernakulam took up the case for hearing after a a February 2023 Bar & Bench report which highlighted the delay in hearing the case which was filed by the judge in 2018 when he was a Senior Advocate. In an order passed on Monday, a bench comprising President DB Binu and members V Ramachandran and Sreevidhia TN said that the airline had denied permission to the complainant to board a flight from Doha to Edinburg in United Kingdom due to overbooking arising from a technical issue on the part of the airline. The airline had accepted the same and had issued an apology to the customer/complainant for the inconvenience caused and had also provided them with accommodation in a hotel in Doha along with a meal voucher, the consumer forum noted."The complainant's credibility and integrity have been questioned and also called a liar and accused of engaging in fraudulent conduct. It is unfair and inappropriate for the airlines to make baseless accusations against a consumer who has filed a complaint seeking to address their legitimate rights, especially when the airline claims to have a good reputation and goodwill as a service provider.. It is undisputed that the complainant arrived at his destination with a delay of one day..." the forum observed.Therefore, it imposed a total fine of ₹7.5 lakh on the airline to be paid within 30 days..In 2018, Justice Thomas, then a Senior Advocate had decided to travel with his friends to Scotland to trek the popular trail, West Highland Way.They booked flights that would reach Edinburgh, Scotland in time for their trek in April 2018. The bookings were made well in time in December 2017, with Qatar Airlines.On the day of their departure, the group had a smooth flight from Kochi to Doha but was in for a rude shock when they attempted to board their next flight from Doha to Edinburgh.Justice Thomas and four of his friends were told they were being offloaded with the only explanation from Qatar Airlines being that they had overbooked the flight.Justice Thomas is stated to have informed them that overbooking is an unfair trade practice and regardless, any offloading should be done on a 'last come first go' basis. However, they were denied permission even after explaining that they had booked their tickets nearly 5 months prior.The Airlines put them up in a hotel at the Airport and gave them a flight for the next day, which threw off the schedule they had planned for their trek.According to the complaint filed by Justice Thomas, the airline gave the group a voucher for $250, a sum that the complainant contended, was wholly inadequate.A month after their trip, Justice Thomas sent a legal notice to Qatar Airlines claiming compensation but he did not receive any reply.He subsequently approached the consumer court seeking compensation of ₹10 lakh..It was over four years later that the proceedings before the consumer court started in a substantial manner. Justice Thomas filed an application to get a list of all the passengers on the Doha-Edinburgh flight along with the dates on which they had made their bookings.The consumer court allowed Justice Thomas's application on December 30, 2022.Qatar Airlines then filed a review petition against this order. However, it was dismissed.Bar & Bench reported on February 21, 2023 about the delay in taking up the case. Subsequently, the case was taken up for hearing. The forum in its order said that despite the complainant's efforts to address the issue, their pleas were ignored, and the complainant, along with their friends, was denied boarding despite having boarding passes. "After waiting for three hours, the opposite parties finally provided the complainant with accommodation in a hotel room and tickets for a flight to Edinburgh on the following day," the order said.As a result, the complainant reached their destination a day late and was barely able to make it to trekking venue on time, the forum noted.The complainant experienced exhaustion from jet lag limiting their ability to enjoy planned sightseeing activities, and endured significant mental anguish and trauma, it said.Therefore, the forum ruled against the airline company."In view of the above facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the opinion that the Opposite Parties are liable to compensate the complainant. The opposite party shall pay an amount of Rs 7,00,000/- to the complainant as compensation for the loss sustained to to complainant for the mental agony, hardship and physical stress afforded by the complainant due to deficiency of service and unfair trade practice by the opposite parties. The Opposite Party shall also pay the compensation Rs 50,000/- towards the cost of proceeding," the order said..The complainant was represented by advocates Enoch David Simon Joel, Sreedev S, Rony Jose, Leo Lukose, Karol Mathews Alencherry and Derick Mathai Saji