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Informist, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – Noting that the Delhi High Court was already hearing a public interest litigation seeking a judicial probe into delays and cancellation of Interglobe Aviation Ltd.-operated IndiGo flights and the issue of ticket refunds, the Supreme Court asked a litigant, Narendra Mishra to move the high court for its petition on a similar issue. Mishra is permitted to join proceedings before the high court and it is requested to allow him to intervene and raise all contentions therein, said the court.

 

If all grievances are not redressed, then nothing stops Mishra or any other public-spirited individual to approach the apex court, said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. On the petitioner's argument that daily passengers were suffering and flights were getting cancelled, the top court remarked that it was a grave concern for the public, but the high court was looking into it. The high court is also a constitutional court, said the top court, adding that if the petitioner's grievances are not redressed then he can come to the apex court. Instead of parallel proceedings happening in both courts, it would be good for the petitioner to approach the high court, the top court added. It noted that all of Mishra's contentions raised in his petition are already pending before the high court.

 

On Dec. 10, hearing a public interest litigation by two advocates Akhil Rana and Utkarsh Sharma, the Delhi High Court questioned the government how other airlines could take advantage of the situation and start charging INR 40,000 or more for tickets from passengers. "You allowed the situation to precipitate and only then did you take action. Why did you allow all this to happen?" the court asked. "It's not just a question of individual passengers stuck at the airport. The question is also about loss to the economy. What action have you taken to provide help to people and compensate them?" the high court asked.

 

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela of the high court questioned the government on the action it had taken to ensure that the employees of IndiGo airline behaved properly with passengers. It asked why the government had not implemented the guidelines on pilot working hours on time. The court said that the government had undertaken actions only once the crisis had erupted and asked why such a crisis had erupted in the first place.

 

The high court directed IndiGo to strictly adhere to provisions on payment of compensation to passengers. If there are any other provisions for payment of damages to passengers, those should also be ensured by IndiGo and other respondents, the court said. It asked the government to ensure that the situation returned to normal at the earliest, without compromising the safety of passengers. It also sought that appropriate measures be taken so that all airlines employ an adequate number of pilots. 

 

The high court was hearing a public interest litigation raising concern about the recent disruptions in the services provided by IndiGo on account of cancellation and delays of a large number of flights. IndiGo saw an unprecedented level of flight cancellations earlier this month due to crew shortage, following enforcement of the new flight duty time limitation rules. These flight cancellations led to several passengers being stranded at airports across the country.

 

At 1225 IST, the shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. traded 2.1% higher at INR 4,966.00 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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