New Delhi, Dec 17: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking enhanced compensation for passengers affected by IndiGo flight cancellations following the rollout of new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the issue raised in the plea was already under consideration in an earlier PIL. The court granted liberty to the petitioner to intervene in the pending matter instead of filing a fresh petition.
“We do not see any reason why the concerns raised here cannot be addressed in the earlier petition. Jurisprudence on PILs allows courts to expand the scope of an existing petition in public interest,” the bench said, disposing of the writ petition.
The PIL was filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) through its president, Prof Vikram Singh, seeking directions to the Centre and IndiGo to pay compensation amounting to four times the ticket price to passengers whose flights were cancelled during November and December. The petitioner argued that the sudden cancellation of thousands of flights caused severe hardship, leaving passengers stranded without adequate communication, clarity on refunds, or rebooking options.
Advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted widespread chaos at airports, including misplaced baggage, long delays, and lack of assistance from the airline. The plea also sought an independent inquiry by a retired judge or the Lokpal into the alleged lapses of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in allowing the crisis to escalate.
Earlier, on December 10, the High Court had questioned the Centre over its delayed response to the large-scale flight disruptions, asking why the situation was allowed to worsen, affecting lakhs of passengers and leading to steep fare hikes by other airlines. That hearing was part of a separate PIL seeking relief and refunds for passengers impacted by IndiGo’s cancellations.
IndiGo has faced mounting criticism from both the government and travellers since December 2, after cancelling hundreds of flights, citing regulatory changes related to pilots’ flight duty time and rest norms.