Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing on plea against airfare hike
A bench of the Supreme Court declined an urgent listing on Monday regarding a petition alleging a 700 per cent rise in domestic airfares.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently list a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to cap domestic airfares during festival periods. The petition alleged that fares have increased by 700 per cent, which the petitioner's advocate, Abhinav, claimed is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Aparesh Kumar Singh heard the matter. When the advocate argued that air travel is an essential service, the bench observed, "Don't travel by air."
According to reports from The Times of India and Business Standard, the court is already hearing a separate petition filed by social activist S Laxminarayanan. That petition seeks an independent regulator to ensure transparency and guidelines to control unpredictable fluctuations in airfares and ancillary charges.
During a hearing on October 16, the Centre informed the court that administrative approval has been granted for rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024. These rules, aimed at regulating the aviation sector, are expected to be published in two weeks.
The Supreme Court has asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to present the published rules under the 2024 legislation at the next hearing on November 16. In January, the court had previously flagged the rise in festival fares, describing the hikes as exploitation.