A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking an inquiry against the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the Indigo fiasco and fourfold compensation to passengers who were left stranded at airports due to the cancellation of flights.
The petition filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) is listed for hearing on December 17 (Wednesday) before a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.According to the plea, IndiGo’s failure to comply with revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms triggered a nationwide aviation crisis, resulting in the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights.
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.
The disruptions left passengers stranded across major airports with complaints of inadequate communication, delayed refunds and sharply inflated airfares despite government-imposed caps, the plea states.The plea has sought a direction to the Central government to initiate a class action suit against IndiGo under Sections 2(5)(iii) and 35(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
According to the petition, the DGCA failed in its duty and therefore, a retired judge or the Lokpal should investigate its negligence and role in precipitating the crisis.The plea was filed through advocates Shourya Tiwari and Rupali Panwar.Notably, the High Court is already seized of a PIL in relation to the Indigo crisis. While hearing that case on December 10, the Court had ordered Indigo to ensure compensation to the affected passengers.The Central government was also directed to take action against erring airlines.
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.
According to the petitioner, 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."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 such a crisis in future, action on six aspects of dominance, refund, compensation, damages, penalty according to loss to the economy and contempt for non-compliance with court orders are needed.
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