Supreme Court declines urgent hearing on airfare plea

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to urgently list a plea alleging airfares had risen by nearly 700 per cent, after an advocate raised the claim before a three-judge bench. The bench responded, “Don’t travel by air,” and moved on without agreeing to hear the matter urgently. The advocate argued that air travel is an essential service and that the alleged increase violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. The reported fare rise is an allegation made in court, not a finding by the judges. The reports do not establish the routes, dates or baseline behind the nearly 700 per cent figure. The exchange took place as the court considers a separate petition by S Laxminarayanan, seeking greater transparency in airfare pricing and passenger protection. The petition asks for a regulatory mechanism to address fare fluctuations and additional charges imposed by private airlines. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear that matter on November 16. An application associated with the petition cites a Delhi-Kolkata ticket priced at ₹78,694 for travel on November 6, compared with a stated usual fare of ₹10,000 to ₹11,000. It also cites two...