On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a public interest petition seeking judicial intervention into the IndiGo flight cancellation crisis, holding that the Delhi High Court is already seized of the issue. The Court directed the petitioner to pursue remedies before the High Court, underscoring its reluctance to allow parallel proceedings in a matter affecting aviation regulation and passenger rights nationwide.
The plea, filed by a party-in-person, alleged large-scale flight cancellations causing widespread hardship to passengers and sought a court-monitored inquiry into the crisis. When the matter was mentioned, the Court was informed that a similar petition is actively pending before the Delhi High Court and that the aviation regulator has already initiated an internal examination through a dedicated committee.
The petitioner pressed for intervention, citing the scale of disruptions, while the Court weighed the need to maintain judicial discipline and avoid overlapping scrutiny by multiple constitutional forums.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi, made it clear that once a High Court is addressing an issue, the Apex Court should not step in at the threshold. Emphasising institutional comity, the Chief Justice remarked, “The moment we entertain a PIL, the High Court will stop hearing,” adding that constitutional courts at the High Court level are fully competent to deal with such grievances.
The Bench granted liberty to the petitioner to intervene in the Delhi High Court proceedings and requested that court to permit such participation, leaving the door open for future recourse if dissatisfaction remains after the High Court’s decision.
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