IndiGo flight crisis: Delhi HC bins PIL seeking increased compensation to passengers

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to the Centre and IndiGo airline to pay a compensation of four times the full ticket price to all passengers whose tickets were cancelled in November and December after the roll out of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL).

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said it has already taken cognisance of the issue while hearing another Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and granted liberty to the petitioner to seek intervention in the pending petition.

"We don't see any reason as to why the concerns raised here cannot be taken up with 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...

"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 bench said.

According to the petition filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) through its president Prof Vikram Singh, the IndiGo fiasco has triggered widespread concern across the aviation sector, and due to sudden disruption and last-minute cancellation of thousands of flights, stranded passengers faced severe inconvenience.

Advocate Virag Gupta, representing the petitioner, said airports were overflowing with misdirected pieces of baggage, excessive holdups, inadequate communication from the airline and confusion regarding refunds or re-booking options.

The plea also sought an enquiry by a retired judge or Lokpal to identify the negligence and lapses of the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in triggering the crisis.

At the outset of the hearing, the bench said it recently dealt with the issues in another petition that is still underway and no final adjudication has been made.

The petitioner's counsel claimed that the issues raised by the court in the earlier petition were not addressed yet. He pressed for the prayers raised in his plea, contending that over 12.5 lakh passengers suffered due to over 5,000 flight cancellations in December and the refunds have not been processed.

As the counsel continued to argue, the bench asked, "Why are you so charged? Are parties restricted from raising these points in the earlier petition? What benefit will you or the stranded passengers get by multiplicity of petitions? Why can't you file an impleadment application in the earlier petition?" The bench further said PILs are not to score "brownie points".

As Gupta argued that the passengers be given a compensation of four times the total ticket price, the additional solicitor general, who was representing the Centre and DGCA, said, "When it comes to the trauma of stranded passengers, why restrict it to four times compensation? It could be 4,000 times compensation also." The petition further sought to direct the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Department of Consumer Affairs to initiate a "class action suit" according to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act against IndiGo for the suffering and damages caused to the passengers due to the crisis in the last couple of months.

"IndiGo operates around 410 aircraft with 5,700 pilots, translating to roughly 14 pilots per aircraft. This skeletal staffing model is insufficient as new rest rules require more pilots to operate the same flight schedule...

"When the new FDTL rules reduced pilot availability, the numbers stopped crunching, which led to a national aviation crisis. Instead of taking remedial, penal action and giving appropriate compensation as per the existing laws, the matter is being diverted in the name of an enquiry and emphasis on the need for new laws," it said.

The PIL said that to avoid a repeat of the crisis, action on six aspects -- dominance, refund, compensation, damages, penalty according to loss to the economy, and contempt for non-compliance with court orders -- are needed.

It sought to direct the Centre and InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, to pay a compensation of four times the full ticket price to all the passengers whose tickets were cancelled in November and December.

The high court, on December 10, had questioned the Central government for not taking timely action to check the crisis caused by IndiGo flight cancellations from December 2 and asked why the situation was allowed to precipitate, with lakhs of passengers stranded and other airlines charging hefty fares.

It was hearing a PIL seeking directions to the Centre to provide support and refunds to the affected passengers.

The airline has been facing heat from both the government and the passengers for cancelling hundreds of flights since December 2, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations. PTI SKV SKV RUK RUK