Ahmedabad accident: ‘Abandon the case, take compensation,’ why does Air India want Right to Forgo?

On June 12, 2025, an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. More than 241 passengers and civilians were killed in the accident. Now after the plane crash, Air India is offering an additional cash compensation to the families of the victims. Questions are being raised on this offer of Air India because if there is a dispute, the aggrieved party will not be able to file a case.

A report in ‘The Quint’ claims that this additional amount is being given to those families who will give written consent not to pursue any legal case against Air India and the aircraft manufacturing companies in future. The report states that an additional amount of Rs 10 lakh has been offered to a family, but this amount may vary from case to case.

Also read: How did the wings of Air India and Indigo planes collide with each other? A major accident was averted

What is the announcement of Air India?

On June 12, 2025, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner going from Ahmedabad to London crashed. 241 people on board the plane and 19 people on the ground lost their lives. Following the accident, Tata Group-owned Air India had announced an interim payment of Rs 25 lakh per victim and an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore.

What does Air India want from the victims?

Now Air India is asking the affected families to sign an ‘indemnity document’. Signing it means the families will give up their right to sue Air India, along with companies like Boeing, General Electric, Safran and Honeywell. Surprisingly, the Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA and Airport Authority of India have also been included in the scope of this agreement.
 

Also read: If there was a possibility of an incident like Ahmedabad crash, Air India flight was immediately downed.

Why are questions being raised?

The documents state that if this amount is accepted by the families, it will be considered as ‘final settlement’. This means that in future no family member or legal heir will be able to take action against these companies or government entities in the court of any country. If any member takes legal action then the entire responsibility of resolving it will be on the person signing.

There are pending cases in foreign courts also

Those who lost their lives in the accident included 53 British, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian citizen. Cases are going on against companies like Air India and Honeywell in the courts of London and America. Lawyers representing the victims say that Air India has made such an offer to the families.

Air India has said in its statement that this process is transparent and the amount of compensation has been decided on the basis of legal framework. The airline says that this method of ‘full and final’ settlement is the industry standard to avoid unnecessary litigation in future.

Also read: Molesting a South Korean woman in the name of checking, Air India staff arrested

What is ‘waiving the right to sue’?

A popular term in English for such cases is ‘Forgo Right to Sue’, which means giving up the right to sue.

Rupali Panwar, Advocate, Supreme Court:-
The right to waive the case means that you agree in an agreement or contract that you will not file a court case against the other party in a particular matter.

How to understand this?

If your car meets with an accident. You pay compensation to the victim. In return, you can get him to write that he will not file a case against you in future. It is called ‘Forgo Right to Sue’.

Also read: Air India captain found drunk before the flight, created panic

Is such an agreement illegal?

Advocate Anand Mishra said, ‘Section 28 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, talks about this. Indian law generally invalidates agreements that completely prevent a person from going to court, but there are some exceptions.

Snigdha Tripathi, Advocate:-
If two parties resolve the dispute by mutual consent and agree not to litigate as per the agreement then it is valid. If it is written in the contract that in case of a dispute, you will choose the path of ‘mediation’ instead of going to court, then the law considers it correct. You can waive this right when you take money from a company at the time of claim settlement.

Also read: How did the Air India accident happen, what did the fake flight testing reveal?

When can such an agreement not be reached?

According to Supreme Court Advocate Shubham Gupta, the Constitution gives every citizen the right to fight a legal case. This right cannot be taken away from anyone by intimidating or threatening or cheating. If any agreement is against the principles of public interest, then the condition of not filing a case can be rejected by the court. When companies force a common man to sign such agreements then such agreements are illegal.

Why does Air India want this?

This clause can not only provide relief to Air India and its associated companies from lawsuits in case of any dispute in future. The aim of the company is to permanently end legal disputes and provide protection to manufacturers. The company spends both time and money in various lawsuits. In such accidents, usually every company wants that once there is a settlement, after which the litigation should end.