London:
Will Pike, a London-based survivor of the Mumbai terror attacks that left him crippled for life after falling 50 feet from his bedroom window, has sued Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for "failing" to provide guests with adequate security.
Proceedings have been started in the High Court here and a notice was served last week on the London base of the Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL), which owns the Taj Hotel.
Mr Pike's lawyer Russell Levy told PTI today that the case involves a "very substantial sum", which is necessary to ensure that Mr Pike is properly looked after for the rest of his life, including a specially adapted residence and special therapies.
Mr Pike was in the hotel with his former girlfriend Kelly Doyle when the terrorists attacked the hotel. IHCL, he said, has a considerable presence in England, which makes it easy to deal with the case here rather than in India.
When asked to comment on the case, a company spokesman said they did not want to comment on it as the matter is sub judice.
Mr Levy said: "We are proceeding with legal action in England after our request for a meeting with the hotel owners was refused. They have instead suggested that Pike return to India to pursue legal action and threatened to seek to recover legal costs from him and Doyle."
Mr Pike's spinal cord was injured when he fell from his room window, and since then has only limited sensation and functionality below the waist. He is confined to a wheelchair.
Mr Pike, 32, an advertising copywriter who is unlikely to be able to walk again, launched a campaign to ensure that British victims of terrorism abroad secure the same level of government compensation as victims of such acts in the UK. The policy was changed in January to benefit such victims of terrorism abroad.
Mr Levy, from the legal company Leigh Day & Co, said the case was "not being brought out of vengeance or retribution", but it was his view as well as those of experts that the Taj Hotel was not adequately protected.