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The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea related to the chaos caused by cancellation and delays in flights of Indigo airline.

 

The bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi noted that the matter is already pending consideration before the High Court."We appreciate the issue but instead of parallel proceedings, you go to High Court," the bench said, as it requested the High Court to allow Mishra to intervene in the case pending before it.

 

It, thus, opined that the petitioner, advocate Narendra Mishra, is at liberty to join the proceedings before the High Court.When Mishra insisted that everyday passengers were facing difficulties, the Court acknowledged that the matter is of grave concern. However, the Court asserted that it cannot intervene since a constitutional court is already hearing the matter.

 

"It is also a constitutional court. If your grievances are not redressed then you can come here," the bench said.It was also noted that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already formed an expert committee to look into the Indigo situation 

 

Indigo was hit by shortage of pilots and its failure to implement the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL). After the crisis unfolded, DGCA granted an exemption to Indigo to tackle the ongoing crisis, and also ordered Indigo to cut scheduled flights by 10 percent.

 

Last week, the Delhi High Court criticized the Union government and DCGA for failing to prevent the crisis. It also ordered the airline to compensate the passengers, who were left stranded at the airports for hours due to the cancellation or delay in their flights.

 

"We appreciate the steps taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA. However, what bothers us is as to how such a situation was allowed to precipitate, leaving lakhs of passengers unattended at the airports. Such a situation is not confined to causing inconvenience to the passengers but also affects the economy of the country, as in the present day fast movement of passengers is an important aspect to keep the economy functioning," the High Court said.

 

It then directed once the ongoing DGCA inquiry against Indigo is complete, the report must be placed before it in a sealed cover. Subsequent to the hearing, DGCA sacked four flight operation inspectors and stationed several of its officers for oversight at Indigo's headquarters in Gurgaon to ensure restoration of air travel.