Premier Travel Agencies Ordered to pay Compensation Amounting To— ₹ 5 million..

Citing an article published on Indian news channel NDTV it has been reported that the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered Premier travel agencies Thomas Cook and Red Apple Travel to pay  ₹ 5 million as compensation to an individual named Mr. Yogesh Saigal, who had lost his wife, son and father-in-law in an accident took place during a holiday visit to Sri Lanka on December of 2019.

Kanupuriya Saigal who was the wife of Mr. Yogesh Saigal, was a former journalist and news anchor with NDTV. Her son Shreya Saigal and father, famous Hindi litterateur Ganga Prasad Vimal, all had lost their lives when the van they had chartered from the travel agency was involved in a deadly collision with a container truck in Colombo. Unfortunately the driver of the van itself, a 52-year-old man was also killed in the collision.

Yogesh Saigal and their daughter Aishwarya Saigal, had survived the deadly accident but sustained lifelong serious injuries.

Despite being taken place almost 4 years ago Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered the mentioned travel agencies to provide compensation for the survived family members, stating – “There is negligence/deficiency on part of the Opposition Parties (Thomas Cook and Red Apple Travel) on account of the negligence of the driver hired by them and they cannot be allowed to escape its responsibility and corresponding liability by stating that it was merely booking the places etc at the behest of the complainant,” the Forum said in its order.

Despite the compensated amount being settled for 5 million Indian Rupees, The Saigal family has sought an amount of almost  8.99 crore Indian Rupees. As for their allegations against Thomas Cook and Red Apple Travel, negligence and deficiency in services, unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements and cost of legal proceedings has been presented. He has further complained “due to he had suffered severe injuries sustained from the accident as multiple fractures and was recuperating at a hospital in Sri Lanka he was unable to attend for the funeral and last rites of his wife and son, which took place in Delhi.

According to the report it has been mentioned that the loss of his wife and father-in-law has hit his mother-in-law hard as she is physically and mentally challenged. His daughter, he said, is battling severe mental trauma. He is unable to walk normally and “finds it difficult to sleep or interact socially”.

According to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum compensation amounting for ₹ 5 million had to be paid by the travel agencies “jointly and severally” within three months, failing which they would have to pay another 1 million as well.