India

Supreme Court Dismisses Urgent Plea Over Alleged 700% Airfare Surge

By PTI

The Supreme Court of India told a petitioner not to travel by air on Monday, rejecting an urgent request to hear a plea that claimed airfares had risen by nearly 700 per cent. The plea was presented before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh. The advocate argued that the aviation fare had increased by 700 per cent and that air travel is an essential service, citing a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. The court is also hearing a separate petition filed by social activist S. Laxminarayanan, who seeks a robust and independent regulator to ensure transparency and passenger protection in the civil aviation sector and to control “unpredictable fluctuations” in airfare and ancillary charges imposed by private airlines. During a hearing on October 16, the Centre informed the court that administrative approval has been granted to rules under a 2024 legislation aimed at regulating India’s aviation sector, and that the rules are likely to be published in two weeks. The Supreme Court had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to submit the published rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, before the next hearing on November 16. On August 17, the Centre told the court that it had fast‑tracked the framing of rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, aimed at modernising India’s aviation sector. In November last year, the court sought responses from the Centre and other authorities on Laxminarayanan’s plea. While hearing the matter in January, the court said it would intervene in the “unpredictable fluctuations” in airfares and had flagged the exorbitant rise during festivals. It described the steep hike of fares by airlines as “exploitation” and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to file their replies on the plea.