Court tells Air India to pay passenger ₹35,000
The Madras High Court has told Air India to pay ₹35,000 to a passenger, P. Sundarapariporanam, who found hair in his meal on a flight from Colombo to Chennai on July 26, 2002.
Even though the airline tried to pin the blame on its caterer, the court made it clear that Air India was responsible for what happened.
The ruling came out in October 2025.
Judge's take on deal with airline
The court used something called "res ipsa loquitur" (basically, if something goes wrong, it speaks for itself) to decide Air India was at fault—no need for tons of extra proof.
The judge also pointed out that your deal is with the airline, not whoever they hire for food.
While the passenger first asked for ₹11 lakh in damages, ₹35,000 was awarded as litigation costs since there wasn't enough evidence of injury or financial loss for more.
This case highlights how companies can't dodge responsibility just because they outsource services.