The Delhi High
Court has issued summons to TATA SIA Airlines, which operates Vistara, on a
plea by a minor and her parents seeking more than Rs 2.5 crore damages for
bodily injuries the child suffered after a hot beverage was allegedly spilled
on her by a flight attendant.
Justice Anup
Jairam Bhambhani said summons be sent to the defendant, TATA SIA Airlines Ltd,
which is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, by all
permissible modes and it shall file a written statement along with an affidavit
of admission or denial of the documents filed by the plaintiffs within 30 days.
"Upon a
prima facie conspectus of the matter, let the plaint be registered as a suit.
Issue summons in the suit," the court said.
It listed the
plea for March 6 for hearing the interim application in which the plaintiffs
have sought a direction to the airline to remove the official statement
relating to the incident and to restrain it from publishing any defamatory
contents against them or concerning the incident.
The girl, aged
10, and her parents have claimed damages of Rs 2.68 crore along with medical
expenses incurred by them in Frankfurt, Germany and other consequential reliefs
arising from the incident that occurred on August 11, 2023 on the flight from
Delhi to Frankfurt which occurred due to the alleged negligence of a member of
the crew.
In their suit,
the girl's parents said she suffered "grave second-degree burns on her
thighs and adjoining areas" due to the negligence of a female flight
attendant who seemed to be in a hurry while carrying the hot-chocolate ordered
by the child with another extremely hot beverage.
The parents
claimed that even after they shared the incident on social media, Vistara
instead of taking responsibility for the "negligent and reckless acts of
its employees and extending support to the family, issued a statement on the
social media platform X' (formerly known as Twitter) from its official account,
confirming the incident but falsely attributing the blame for the incident upon
the child".
The parents
disputed the airlines' statement that the incident took place due to "the
child's playful behaviour" and said it not only caused serious medical
injuries to the minor but also resulted in severe mental agony and harassment
to the family.
They claimed that
the airlines made no attempt to reach out or offer any assistance to the family
after the incident.
They said the
only time airlines finally reached out to the family was after the mother
shared details of the incident on her Twitter account. But even thereafter, no
material assistance or help was extended by the airline to the family while
they were in Frankfurt they claimed.
After the
incident, the airlines had confirmed the incident and had said that all medical
expenses due to the incident will be reimbursed by it.
The spokesperson
had said in a statement that in line with the SOPs, the crew immediately
provided first-aid as warranted for the spill, and sought support from a
paramedic onboard, who volunteered to assist until the flight landed in
Frankfurt.
According to the
airline, it had ensured medical care immediately upon landing by arranging an
ambulance and the child, along with her mother, was sent to the hospital.