It took just four words for the Supreme Court to reject an urgent hearing request linked to a plea on Diwali surge pricing of tickets by carriers.
“Don’t travel by air,” Justice Vikram Nath said before he asked for the “next case” to be presented to the bench.
The application, which has been filed as a public interest litigation (PIL), seeks the Supreme Court’s directions against what it calls arbitrary and exorbitant airfare pricing by private airlines during festive periods, holidays and emergencies. The petitioner, however, wanted an early hearing. Seeking a cap on domestic airfares amid the Diwali festive season, the petitioner argued before the Supreme Court that airfares have been inflated by 700 per cent over normal fares. The counsel argued that air travel is an essential service and steep fare hikes violate Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality. The Centre had in October informed the Supreme Court that administrative approval had been granted for new aviation rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, to regulate airfares and that they were likely to be published within two weeks. The bench had asked the Centre to place the rules before the court before the next date of hearing on November 16.
