Air India AI171: Bereaved husband rejects final compensation, one year on
Synopsis
A year after Air India AI171 killed his pregnant wife Jaimini and their unborn child, Gunjan Kumar Chaudhary has rejected the final compensation offer — calling a 16x-salary formula an inadequate measure of two lives. He plans to file an independent UK lawsuit once the AAIB investigation concludes, and says he will challenge any finding that blames the pilot.
Key Takeaways
Gunjan Kumar Chaudhary rejected the final compensation offer linked to the Air India AI171 crash, calling the 16x-salary calculation inadequate.
His wife Jaimini Chaudhary was two months pregnant when she died aboard the flight on 12 June 2025 .
The crash killed 260 people in total — 241 of 242 on board and 19 on the ground — when the Boeing 787-8 struck the B.J.
Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad .
Gunjan accepted the initial ex gratia package, which included ₹1 crore from the Tata Group , but has refused the final settlement.
He plans to file an independent legal case in the United Kingdom once the AAIB investigation concludes.
The AAIB has not provided a timeline for its final report, one year after the disaster.
Gunjan Kumar Chaudhary returned to the Ahmedabad crash site on 12 June 2025's first anniversary carrying a photograph of his wife, Jaimini Chaudhary, who was two months pregnant when she died aboard Air India flight AI171. One year on, he has rejected the final compensation offer, saying no financial formula can account for the loss of his wife and their unborn child.
A Loss That Cannot Be Quantified
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the B.J. Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on 12 June 2025, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground — a total of 260 lives. Jaimini was among those on board, travelling on the London-bound service after an extended stay with family in India.
Gunjan and Jaimini had been together for 12 years — two years of engagement and 10 years of marriage, with their wedding anniversary falling on 25 January 2025, just months before the disaster. 'My wife was two months pregnant. We lost two lives together,' he said.
The Final Compensation Dispute
Gunjan has accepted the initial assistance extended to all affected families — including an ex gratia package that comprised ₹1 crore from the Tata Group and additional payments from Air India. However, he has firmly rejected what he described as the final compensation offer.
'They calculated it as 16 times my wife's salary. How can they decide how long my wife would have lived? Nobody knows that. The calculation is totally wrong,' he said. He added: 'The first compensation was given to everyone. I accepted that. It is the final compensation that I rejected.'
The Couple's Story
The Chaudharys had relocated to London together in 2022, with Jaimini employed at Nikie Health Care Limited and Gunjan at Othon Chemical Limited. They had long planned to start a family, and Jaimini had asked that they first settle abroad before having a child. 'After that, our child plan succeeded, and suddenly this happened. We lost everything,' Gunjan said.
The couple had travelled to India together on 9 May 2025. Gunjan returned to London on 21 May after exhausting his annual leave, while Jaimini stayed on to spend time with her family and attend to dental treatment. The trip had also been prompted by his mother's health concerns. Their final conversation was a video call at 12:39 pm on the day of the crash. 'She told me, 'I have left. Come and pick me up at London Airport,' he recalled. Within minutes, the aircraft went down.
A year later, the grief remains acute. 'Every time I sleep, I wake up around 4 o'clock. We used to hold hands before we went to sleep. I suddenly wake up, say my wife's name, and then realise she is not here,' he said.
Legal Plans and Accountability
Gunjan has said he will pursue legal action independently in the United Kingdom rather than through any of the law firms representing groups of victims' families. His work permit in London remains valid until 16 July 2028. 'I will file the case individually in the UK, not in Indian courts,' he confirmed.
He said Air India would remain central to any future legal action, but stressed he would wait for the final investigation findings before proceeding. 'Only when the investigation is finished will we know whether it was Boeing, General Electric or something else. We do not know yet,' he said.
Gunjan also expressed scepticism about reports suggesting pilot error. 'I do not believe the pilot did this intentionally. The pilot's job was to save people. I trust him,' he said, adding that he suspects a technical fault — possibly an electrical failure — may have played a role. He said he would challenge any final report that attributed the crash to deliberate human action.
Investigation Still Ongoing
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has confirmed the inquiry is ongoing and has not provided a timeline for the final report. Families who gathered in Ahmedabad this week said they continue to seek clarity about how the London-bound aircraft crashed less than a minute after take-off. The anniversary has renewed calls from bereaved families for a transparent and timely conclusion to the investigation.
For Gunjan, the legal and investigative processes remain secondary to a grief that, one year on, still wakes him at 4 am. He continues to live in the same apartment he shared with Jaimini in London, unwilling to let go of the life they built together.
Point of View
Designed for speed and uniformity, are a poor fit for deaths that involve unborn children, dual incomes, and lives cut short at their most productive. His refusal to join a class-action firm and his insistence on UK jurisdiction suggests he — and likely others — distrust domestic legal timelines. With the AAIB yet to deliver a final report a full year on, the absence of an accountability anchor is making grief harder to process and legal strategy harder to plan. The families' calls for a transparent conclusion are not just emotional; they are the precondition for any credible civil litigation.
NationPress
29 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Gunjan Kumar Chaudhary reject the Air India AI171 final compensation?
Gunjan rejected the final compensation offer because it was calculated at 16 times his wife's salary, a formula he says cannot account for how long Jaimini would have lived or the loss of their unborn child. He accepted the initial ex gratia payment given to all affected families but disputes the final settlement.
What was the Air India AI171 crash?
Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed into the B.J. Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025 shortly after take-off, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground — a total of 260 deaths. It is one of India's deadliest aviation disasters.
What legal action is Gunjan planning?
Gunjan has said he will file an independent lawsuit in the United Kingdom once the AAIB investigation concludes. He is not affiliated with any of the law firms representing groups of victims' families and intends to proceed on his own terms, with Air India as the primary target.
Where does the AAIB investigation stand one year on?
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has confirmed the inquiry is still ongoing and has not given a timeline for its final report. The cause of the crash — including whether it involved pilot error, a Boeing manufacturing fault, or a General Electric engine issue — has not been officially determined.
Who was Jaimini Chaudhary?
Jaimini Chaudhary was a resident of Ahmedabad who had been living in London since 2022, employed at Nikie Health Care Limited. She was two months pregnant at the time of her death and had stayed on in India after a family visit while her husband Gunjan returned to London for work.
