Delhi HC refuses PIL seeking 4x refund from IndiGo

New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change, a think tank, seeking directions to IndiGo to pay compensation amounting to four times the full ticket price to passengers whose flights were cancelled following the implementation of new flying norms.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the petitioner to join proceedings in an already pending case that seeks a judicial probe into IndiGo's flight delays and cancellations, as well as issues related to ticket refunds. "We decline to entertain this petition, with liberty to the petitioner to seek intervention in the pending petition," the bench said.

The think tank had sought the Centre's intervention to initiate a class action against IndiGo for the hardship and losses suffered by passengers due to recent mass cancellations and delays. It argued that lapses by IndiGo, coupled with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) failure to enforce regulatory compliance, had exposed vulnerabilities in the aviation sector that could hamper the growth ambitions of "Viksit Bharat".