The Supreme Court in the case Kerala Pravasi Association And Anr. v. Union Of India And Ors observed and has refused to entertain the plea moved challenging the exorbitant air travel fares to and from the Gulf, noting that the petition could be taken up before the High Court instead of being dealt with by the Supreme Court.
The bench comprising of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra in the case observed while hearing the PIL moved by the Kerala Pravasi Association challenging Rule-135 of the Indian Aviation Act, which authorises airlines to fix ticket prices.
The Supreme Court in its order stated with regards to the nature of the cause of action in the present case, this court is of the considered view that it would be appropriate for the petitioners to take recourse to the remedy under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
The court in the case observed and has granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the High Court.
The main issued raised in the public interest litigation, PIL is that the excessive price increases by airlines for flights to and from the Gulf region.
As per the plea moved the airfares for routes like Dubai to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram had reached extremely high levels, severely limiting options for passengers. Thus, the Airlines were charging as much as Rs 1,04,738 for flights to Kochi and up to Rs 2,45,829 for flights to Thiruvananthapuram and these elevated fares were expected to persist until the end of September.
Therefore, the PIL in the case was called for the reduction in airfares and the implementation of a cap on ticket prices. It was also argued before the court that the current Rule-135 of the Indian Aviation Act grants airlines unchecked authority to set ticket prices, leading to what the Kerala Pravasi Association, KPA sees as unfair exploitation of Indian travellers and the violation of the right of them to travel.
It has also been contended by the KPA that the government had not taken adequate measures to address the anti-consumer practices of airline companies, forcing expatriates in order to pay between Rs 40,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh for tickets that used to cost Rs 7,000. The plea moved also made reference to the government›s previous involvement in setting fare caps for domestic flights based on flight duration. Presently, the rule stipulates that flights lasting less than 40 minutes cannot be priced above Rs 2,900 which excludes the GST for passenger, and those exceeding 40 minutes cannot exceed Rs 8,800 which exclude per passenger.
The plea was moved by KMNP.
The counsel, Advocate Kuriakose Varghese appeared for the petitioner.