New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking urgent judicial intervention over the chaos caused by large-scale delays and cancellations of IndiGo flights in recent days.
The petition had sought measures to ease the difficulties faced by passengers caught in what has been described as a meltdown in the airline’s passenger services.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi acknowledged that travellers had undergone significant hardship, with many missing medical appointments, weddings, and other important engagements.
“It is a serious matter. We understand that lakhs of people are stranded at airport. People having urgent work, people in need of urgent health issues...But the Government of India has taken cognizance. Timely action appears to have been taken. Let us see what happens after some time. There is no urgency right now,” Justice Kant observed while declining to admit the PIL.
The comments came after an urgent mentioning by a lawyer who sought immediate listing of the matter, claiming that staffing shortages within the airline were worsening delays and that passengers were not being adequately informed.
The Court, however, did not expedite the listing, indicating that the matter would come up in the normal course.
Meanwhile, a similar petition has been moved before the Delhi High Court, seeking directives for full refunds to passengers affected by the crisis. A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the Centre has already issued certain instructions to address the situation, but agreed to hear the matter on Wednesday.
DGCA Summons
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation-appointed panel investigating the IndiGo flight disruptions is likely to summon the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras on Wednesday as part of the ongoing probe, reported PTI on Monday citing a source on Monday.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, the DGCA received IndiGo’s response to its showcause notice on Monday evening, with the airline stating that the mass flight cancellations stemmed from a “compounding effect of multiple factors” that hit the carrier simultaneously.
(Cover photo by Md Shafinur Rahman on Unsplash)