New Delhi: The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered IndiGo to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to a passenger for allotting her an unhygienic and stained seat on a flight from Baku in Azerbaijan to New Delhi.
Commission president Poonam Chaudhry and members Bariq Ahmed and Shekhar Chandra, was hearing a complaint filed by Pinki, alleging that she was provided an “unhygienic, dirty and stained” seat while she was travelling from Baku to New Delhi on January 2 this year.
The complainant also alleged that her complaint to the airline, regarding the issue, was treated in a “dismissive and insensitive manner”.
The airlines countered the claim and said that they took cognisance of the issue faced by Pinki and assigned her a different seat, on which she willingly travelled and completed her journey to New Delhi.
However, the Commission took cognizance of the evidence before it and ordered: “We hold that the opposite party (IndiGo) was guilty of deficiency in service.”
“As regards the discomfort and pain, mental agony suffered by her, we are of the view that she must be compensated. We accordingly direct the opposite party to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation for mental agony, physical pain and harassment to her,” the forum added.
The Commission also directed payment of Rs 25,000 as litigation expenses.
In its order, the consumer court highlighted that the airlines had failed to produce the Situation Data Display (SDD) report, which formed a part of its internal operational records as per standard aviation protocols.
“There is no reference to this report in the written statement or in the evidence filed by the opposite party. The SDD is a crucial document used for flight operation monitoring and to record passenger-related incidents. The absence of this document significantly weakens the opposite party’s defence,” the order stated.
