Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 18: The Delhi High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition on Monday that sought to cancel all SpiceJet flights in light of recent accidents the airline had experienced.
Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, sitting as a division bench, stated that the court cannot control the airlines or provide orders as to which planes should take off and which shouldn’t.
“This is not our domain. We have to pass orders within the legal framework,” the Court told the petitioner.
Following a string of mishaps that plagued the already cash-strapped airline, SpiceJet has recently made headlines.
One of its flights from Delhi to Dubai had to land in Karachi due to a mechanical issue, and another aircraft’s windshield started to break. Another incident involved a Patna-departing airplane that had to be forced to land after catching fire. An examination showed that a bird had struck the aircraft.
According to the appeal submitted by attorney Rahul Bhardwaj and his son Yugan Bhardwaj, SpiceJet flights must be halted in order to prevent a serious accident that could endanger many passengers’ lives and property.
It was claimed that despite numerous mishaps and close calls, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had not penalised the airline. It was argued that this amounted to a breach of the passengers’ Article 21 right to life.
