The Delhi High Court on Wednesday denied a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought to require the Centre and IndiGo airline to pay four times the full ticket price as compensation. This demand arose from numerous flight cancellations in November and December, triggered by new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations.

A Division Bench, including Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, noted that the court had previously acknowledged this issue in a separate pending PIL. They stated that the petitioner could seek intervention in that ongoing case.

The Bench remarked, “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 allows the court to broaden the scope of a petition in public interest.”

The court ultimately disposed of the writ petition while encouraging the petitioner to pursue their concerns through existing litigation.

This PIL was initiated by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) under the leadership of Prof. Vikram Singh. He highlighted that IndiGo’s flight cancellations sparked significant concern within the aviation sector. The petition argued that the abrupt disruptions and last-minute cancellations affected thousands of travellers, leading to substantial inconvenience.

Advocate Virag Gupta, representing the petitioner, described chaotic scenes at airports. Passengers faced issues like misdirected baggage, prolonged waiting times, lack of clear communication from IndiGo, and confusion surrounding refunds and rebooking options.

Besides compensation, the PIL also called for an independent inquiry led by a retired judge or Lokpal. This inquiry would investigate alleged negligence and failures by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which the petition claims exacerbated the crisis.

Previously, on December 10, the Delhi High Court had scrutinized the Central Government’s inaction regarding the mass cancellations. The court challenged the government, questioning why they did not take prompt action to manage the unfolding crisis, which left lakhs of passengers stranded and prompted other airlines to hike their fares.

This scrutiny arose during proceedings of another PIL aimed at instructing the government to provide assistance and refunds to those affected by the cancellation of a substantial number of IndiGo flights.

Since December 2, IndiGo has faced mounting criticism from both governmental entities and frustrated passengers. The airline attributed its widespread cancellations to regulatory changes aimed at pilots’ duty time and rest periods as enforced under the newly revised FDTL framework.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday denied a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought to require the Centre and IndiGo airline to pay four times the full ticket price as compensation. This demand arose from numerous flight cancellations in November and December, triggered by new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) regulations.

A Division Bench, including Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, noted that the court had previously acknowledged this issue in a separate pending PIL. They stated that the petitioner could seek intervention in that ongoing case.

The Bench remarked, “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 allows the court to broaden the scope of a petition in public interest.”

The court ultimately disposed of the writ petition while encouraging the petitioner to pursue their concerns through existing litigation.

This PIL was initiated by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) under the leadership of Prof. Vikram Singh. He highlighted that IndiGo’s flight cancellations sparked significant concern within the aviation sector. The petition argued that the abrupt disruptions and last-minute cancellations affected thousands of travellers, leading to substantial inconvenience.

Advocate Virag Gupta, representing the petitioner, described chaotic scenes at airports. Passengers faced issues like misdirected baggage, prolonged waiting times, lack of clear communication from IndiGo, and confusion surrounding refunds and rebooking options.

Besides compensation, the PIL also called for an independent inquiry led by a retired judge or Lokpal. This inquiry would investigate alleged negligence and failures by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which the petition claims exacerbated the crisis.

Previously, on December 10, the Delhi High Court had scrutinized the Central Government’s inaction regarding the mass cancellations. The court challenged the government, questioning why they did not take prompt action to manage the unfolding crisis, which left lakhs of passengers stranded and prompted other airlines to hike their fares.

This scrutiny arose during proceedings of another PIL aimed at instructing the government to provide assistance and refunds to those affected by the cancellation of a substantial number of IndiGo flights.

Since December 2, IndiGo has faced mounting criticism from both governmental entities and frustrated passengers. The airline attributed its widespread cancellations to regulatory changes aimed at pilots’ duty time and rest periods as enforced under the newly revised FDTL framework.