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Section 85: Special provisions relating to captains and crew of aircraft

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter VII: Employee's Compensation
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 84 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 86

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 85

Section 85 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 establishes specialized statutory rules governing compensation claims for occupational injuries sustained by captains, pilots, and other members of the crew of aircrafts, extending extraterritorial operational coverage beyond Indian sovereign airspace provided the aircraft is registered in India or owned by an enterprise with its principal place of business in India.

  • Extraterritorial Scope and Indian Registry Nexus: Extends statutory employee compensation protections to crew members, pilots, navigators, and cabin personnel operating aircrafts globally, provided the aircraft is registered under the Aircraft Act, 1934 or the managing owner has their principal place of business or permanent residence in the territory of India, creating an unshakeable jurisdictional anchor.
  • Notice and Claim Dispensation Timelines: Modifies the general notice requirements of Section 88 and Section 93; notice of an accident resulting in personal injury may be served upon the commander or captain of the aircraft except where the captain himself is the injured party, and notice of claim is statutorily relaxable up to one year from the date of occurrence, or within one year from the date of official missing notification in cases of disappearance.
  • Deemed Presumption of Loss and Death: In circumstances where an aircraft is lost or presumed lost with all crew and passengers, Section 85 authorizes the Competent Authority to presume the death of the crew member upon expiration of the statutory notification period prescribed by civil aviation authorities, empowering legal dependents to initiate recovery proceedings without waiting for the general seven-year common law presumption under Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act (now Section 114 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).
  • Proviso on Foreign Territorial Compensation Bars: Contains an express statutory proviso barring double recovery: where compensation has been claimed or awarded under the statutory laws of any foreign country or international treaty governing aviation carriers (such as the Warsaw or Montreal Conventions), no concurrent claim can be maintained before the Indian Competent Authority for the identical injury or fatal casualty.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd. v. Ibrahim Mahmmod Issak (1969) 2 SCC 607: The Supreme Court established the definitive test of causal connection and occupational nexus for crew operating on mobile international conveyances outside sovereign waters, holding that injury arises out of employment if the workman was exposed by reasons of his employment to a particular risk at the time of the event.
  • British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. v. Shanmughavilas Cashew Industries (1990) 3 SCC 481: The Supreme Court ruled that statutory domestic labour protections attach to vessels and aircrafts registered within the domestic flag state, sustaining jurisdiction of domestic forums over extraterritorial workplace casualties.
  • General Manager, BEST Undertaking v. Agnes (1964) 3 SCR 930: Laid down the doctrine of notional extension of employment, ruling that an employee's course of employment embraces risks incidental to traveling on designated transport instrumentalities under duty conditions.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In aviation industry practice, corporate counsel and flight operations HR must maintain meticulous logbooks, crew deployment rosters, and flight operational manifests synced with DGCA notifications. When an in-flight casualty occurs on international routes, the airline must immediately file a certified occurrence report before the designated Competent Authority having jurisdiction over the registered corporate headquarters, ensuring that pre-existing foreign hull and passenger/crew liability insurance policies are integrated with statutory compensation limits to prevent duplicate exposure while safeguarding crew dependents.

Section 84 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 86