The Delhi High Court has refused to acknowledge a public interest litigation (PIL) that aimed to compel the Centre and IndiGo airlines to provide four times the full ticket price in compensation to passengers affected by flight cancellations in November and December. The cancellations resulted from the introduction of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A Division Bench, led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, stated that the court had previously recognized a related issue in another pending PIL and granted permission for the petitioner to intervene in that case.
“We do not see any reason as to why the concerns raised here cannot be taken up in the earlier petition. The jurisprudence developed by the Supreme Court and High Courts around PILs permits the court to expand the scope of a petition in public interest,” remarked the Bench.
“We decline to entertain this petition with liberty to the petitioner to seek intervention in the pending petition. The writ petition stands disposed of,” the court ordered.
The petition, filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) led by Prof Vikram Singh, highlighted extensive concerns from passengers amidst widespread flight disruptions. It emphasized that last-minute cancellations of thousands of flights resulted in significant inconvenience for stranded travelers.
Advocate Virag Gupta, representing the petitioner, articulated that airports faced chaos, with incidents of misdirected baggage, prolonged delays, inadequate communication from IndiGo, and confusion surrounding refunds and re-booking options.
Moreover, the PIL called for an independent inquiry, possibly headed by a retired judge or the Lokpal, to investigate alleged negligence and lapses by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that contributed to the crisis.
Previously, on December 10, the Delhi High Court raised questions about the Central Government’s inaction in addressing the predicament stemming from IndiGo’s mass flight cancellations. The court criticized the handling of the situation, questioning why it escalated and left lakhs of passengers stranded while competing airlines charged exorbitant fares.
This inquiry followed another PIL which sought directions for the Centre to offer assistance and refunds to passengers impacted by the large-scale cancellations of IndiGo flights.
IndiGo has faced mounting criticism from both government entities and passengers since December 2 for cancelling a significant number of flights. The airline attributed these cancellations to regulatory changes concerning pilots’ flight duty time and rest norms under the revised FDTL framework.
