PIL filed seeking direction to stop Spicejet operations, refund of fair charges to passengers

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court asking the Centre and relevant authorities to issue a directive to halt Spicejet Airlines' operations due to a number of recent events involving technical difficulties with its aircraft.

Raising security concerns, the petition also sought a direction to pay passengers who faced a threat to their life during the flight and had to deal with the mental trauma of fear of death.

Rahul Bhardwaj, a practicing advocate, and his four-year-old son filed the petition, requesting that the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA, and others convene a special fast track commission to consider the feasibility of Spicejet Airlines suspending operations until all security measures are implemented.

The petition is to be heard by the chief justice of the Delhi bench on Monday.

The plea alleged that the airlines violated the basic principles of the rule of law, which provide protection, safety, and security to the passengers' lives, liberty, dignity, and property, as well as providing an environment in which the passengers' personal liberty and property can be protected and preserved in a healthy environment.

It further ruled that the principles of natural justice, equity, and good conscience demand that the respondents be directed to form an independent special investigation comprised of aviation experts to recommend all measures where all safety measures may be ensured for passengers and citizens.

Recently the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told that, on average, 30 incidents daily take place but these hardly have any safety implications.

Most of them have no safety implications. On the contrary, they are sine qua non of a robust safety management system,” said the DGCA official.