case 2 Rajiv

Name of the victim : Rajiv Rajan age 35 Gender Male

Address : No. 1, Ranjith Road, Kotturpuram , Chennai 600 00 .

Date of incidence: 18th June, 2007.

Instance of violation :
Rajiv Rajan was not permitted to travel in the Air Craft by the Air Sahara (know known as the Jet light) due to his disability.

Facts relating to the case:
Rajiv is a Person with Cerebral Palsy, a nervous condition affecting the locomotory functions and hence he uses wheel Chair for his mobility. He was invited by the National Trust for a meeting scheduled on 18.06.07, at Delhi to discuss and plan Training on Disability and Equity for the Local Level Committee members. For this he had booked tickets to fly by Air Sahara, which was scheduled to take off on 18th June 2007 at 6.35 A.M.

At the time of check in one of the Air Sahara employees came to him and asked him if he had an escort. Rajeev told him that he was a frequent traveller and used to travel alone all time, The Air Sahara Employee did not listen to what was said and took him to the Air Sahara cabin, made him to wait outside the cabin and asked him for his fit to fly certificate. Then they asked for the boarding passes of his previous travel. They also wanted him to give his residence number. Finally, they told him that he can’t travel and tried to push him with the wheel chair. When he told them firmly that he needed to fly, they called the police to send him out of the Air Port. A couple policemen knew him, as he is a frequent flyer. The policemen explained to the Air Sahara personnel, but the flight took off without him. After a long verbal war, The Air Sahara Personnel spoke to the Director, Vidya Sagar and after this offered to fly him by different Air Lines. The Air Sahara at last tried to arrange for the travel through the Spice jet, which is which is another air travel service provider undertaken by Air Shara. Even Spice Jet refused to accommodate him because of his disability. Due to all these unbearable incidents Rajeev was unable to travel.

Violation of law : This patently against the Right to move thought the Indian Territory [Art.(19)(1)(d)] and Right to Equality before the Law and Equal Protection of Law within the territory of India[Art.(14)]. The persons with Disabilities Act is silent in this aspect.

Action taken : Subsequent to the above incident the Disability Activists highlighted these violation Rights through the media. Following the uproar Hindustan Times and the Indian Express and several other local newspapers reported on 21.06.07 that the Jet light apologises for the incident. However, on 22.06.07 it was reported in the Hindustan times, that the air Sahara withdrew the apology. A consumer Complaint has been filed before the State Consumer Disputes and Redressal Commission, Chennai under Consumer Complaint No. 37 of 2007. The Airlines are yet to file their reply.

Also, The Chief Commissioner has taken up the recent incident of denial of right to travel Suo motto and has issued summons to the Air Sahara. In this notice the Chief Commissioner office has clearly stated that the persons with Cerebral palsy do not require an escort to travel and that the Cerebral Palsy is not a medical condition.