Supreme Court refuses to entertain PIL on Indigo crisis; says Delhi HC already hearing it

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking judicial intervention into the crisis created by cancellation of hundreds of Indigo flights, saying that the Delhi High Court was already hearing the issue.

“We appreciate the issue but instead of parallel proceedings, you go to the (Delhi) high court,” a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, said, giving liberty to petitioner Narendra Mishra to intervene in the petition pending before the high court.

“It (Delhi High Court) is also a constitutional court. If your grievances are not redressed then you can come here,” the CJI told the petitioner who sought directions to the Centre to provide support and refunds to passengers affected by the cancellation of a large number of IndiGo flights. He also demanded a court-monitored probe into the Indigo flight cancellation crisis.

The top court had on December 8 termed the chaos created by such a large number of flight cancellation a “serious matter”, but refused to intervene immediately, saying the government had already taken cognisance of the issue.

At the very outset on Monday, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi told the Bench that the matter was already pending in the Delhi High Court and that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has constituted a committee to look into it.

“Now the Delhi High Court is seized of the matter, the moment we entertain a PIL, the high court will stop hearing. If you think that the High Court is not up to your standard and that you will appear only in the Supreme Court, then it is a different matter,” the Bench told Mishra.

Mishra said at least three hundred flights were getting cancelled every day, putting passengers at hardship.

“As a constitutional court, the high court is very much competent to address the issues,” the CJI said, asking Mishra to come back to it if he had any grievances after the high court's order.

Questioning the Centre for not taking timely action to check the crisis caused by IndiGo flight cancellations, the Delhi High Court had on December 10 wondered why the situation was allowed to precipitate, leading to lakhs of passengers getting stranded and other airlines charging hefty fares.

“The question is why, at all, this crisis arose and what have you been doing?...” a Bench led by Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya had asked and directed the government and the airline to take steps to adequately compensate the affected persons.

The court asked the authorities if they were “helpless” or they could have taken action against IndiGo after it failed to implement Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) Rules, including pilot rest rules, by November 1 -- which they blamed for the crisis.

Besides the trouble and harassment caused to the stranded passengers, the question is of the losses caused to the country's economy, the HC had said while hearing a PIL filed by advocates Akhil Rana and Utkarsh Sharma seeking a judicial inquiry into the IndiGo crisis and fair compensation to those affected by flight cancellations.

The high court sought to know how other airlines could take undue advantage of the crisis situation and charge hefty sums for tickets from the passengers.

Posting the matter for further hearing on January 22, the HC had said if the inquiry initiated by a committee into the disruption in flight operations over the past week was complete, its report should be submitted to the court in a sealed cover.

“We appreciate the steps taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA, but what bothers us is how such a situation was allowed to precipitate, leading to the stranding of lakhs of passengers unattended at airports across the country. This has not only caused inconvenience to the passengers but also affected the economy, as in the present day, fast movement of passengers is an important aspect to keep the economy functioning,” the HC had said.

“The ticket which was available for Rs 5,000, the prices went up to Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. If there was a crisis, how could other airlines be permitted to take advantage? How can it (ticket price) go up to Rs 35,000 and Rs 39,000? How could other airlines start charging? It’s like a pound of flesh, how could this happen,” the HC had asked.

The court directed the authorities to ensure that the situation normalises soon and all airlines employ an adequate number of pilots so that FDTL provisions are followed.