Delhi High Court Rejects PIL Seeking Fourfold Compensation from IndiGo
The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought four times compensation for passengers affected by recent large-scale flight cancellations by IndiGo Airlines. The plea also asked for a judicial inquiry against the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over alleged regulatory failures.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela heard the matter. The petitioner argued that over 12.5 lakh passengers were impacted by more than 5,000 flight cancellations in December, and that refunds were not fully processed.
At the outset, the Court noted that similar issues were already being examined in an earlier PIL, which is still pending. The Bench questioned the need for filing a separate petition and suggested that the petitioner could intervene in the ongoing matter instead of creating multiple proceedings.
When the petitioner insisted on granting four times compensation to affected passengers, the Court expressed scepticism. The Bench also observed that class action relief sought in the petition had an alternative statutory remedy and could not be addressed through a PIL.
The petitioner further argued that while the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had the power to act against airlines, the show-cause notice was issued only to IndiGo’s CEO and not the company itself. He sought a direction requiring IndiGo to give an undertaking ensuring full refunds and compliance with aviation norms.
The Court clarified that it had not fixed any compensation amount and would examine the issue after receiving the DGCA’s report. It reiterated that the petitioner could raise concerns through intervention in the pending case.
The PIL was filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systematic Change (CASC), which alleged that regulatory lapses by DGCA and the lack of strict action against large airlines exposed weaknesses in the aviation sector. The plea claimed that failure to penalise major airlines created an impression of preferential treatment.
Earlier, on December 10, the Delhi High Court had issued notice in another PIL seeking an independent probe into the IndiGo cancellations and directed that existing compensation rules for stranded passengers must be strictly followed by the airline under DGCA and Ministry of Civil Aviation oversight.
