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Informist, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation filed by think tank Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change seeking compensation that is four times the value of tickets that were recently cancelled by Interglobe Aviation Ltd.-operated IndiGo airlines. The court asked the petitioner to file an intervention application in an already pending case involving a public interest litigation seeking a judicial probe into delays and cancellation of IndiGo flights, and the issue of ticket refunds.

 

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said it does not see any reason as to why concerns raised by the think tank cannot be taken cognisance of by the court in the earlier pending petition. The jurisprudence developed by the Supreme Court and high courts around public interest litigation permits courts to expand the scope of petitions filed in public interest, said the bench. "We decline to entertain this petition with liberty to the petitioner to seek intervention in the pending petition," the bench added.

 

Earlier this month, IndiGo saw an unprecedented level of flight cancellations due to crew shortage, following the enforcement of the new flight duty time limitation rules. These flight cancellations led to several passengers being stranded at airports across the country.

 

The think tank had sought the government's intervention to initiate a class action suit against IndiGo for the suffering and damages caused to passengers due to the recent mass cancellation of flights and delays. Due to faults and lapses of IndiGo and non-enforcement of regulatory compliances by Directorate General of Civil Aviation, vulnerability of the aviation sector is exposed which may hamper the growth of "Viksit Bharat", the petitioner said. 

 

The plea stated that no penal action was taken against "big flyers like IndiGo", which was giving "an impression of VIP (very important person) syndrome". Instead of taking remedial, penal action and giving appropriate compensation as per the existing laws, the matter is being diverted in the name of enquiry and emphasis on need for new laws, said the petitioner. It sought an enquiry against the DGCA by a retired judge or Lokpal for the recent fiasco concerning cancellation of flights.

 

On Dec. 10, while 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. "You allowed the situation to precipitate and only then did you take action. Why did you allow all this to happen?" the court had 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 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, IndiGo and other respondents should ensure that as well, 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 appropriate measures be taken so that all airlines employ an adequate number of pilots. 

 

At 1417 IST, shares of InterGlobe Aviation were slightly higher at INR 4,977 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 Tanima Banerjee

 

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