Kunal Kamra ban halved; DGCA gets 8 weeks to look into matter

On Thursday, the court was informed by the DGCA and the internal complaints committee of IndiGo that the six- month ban has been halved and reduced to three months.

The Delhi high court (HC) on Thursday directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to address stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s grievances against private airlines, which had banned him from flying after he tweeted a video on board the aircraft heckling television anchor, Arnab Goswami, within eight weeks.

Justice Navin Chawla, however, disposed off the plea by Kamra that had challenged the six-month flying ban imposed on him by private carrier, IndiGo. (File photo)

Justice Navin Chawla, however, disposed off the plea by Kamra that had challenged the six-month flying ban imposed on him by private carrier, IndiGo.

On Thursday, the court was informed by the DGCA and the internal complaints committee of IndiGo that the six- month ban has been halved and reduced to three months.

The airline’s internal committee passed the order at 9:30 am, the court was told.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocates, Gopal Shankar Narayan and Mohit Mathur, told the court that they would want to amend the petition challenging even the three-month ban. They contended that no formal complaint was made by the aircraft’s captain and the flying ban is in violation of the Civil Aviation Rules.

However, the court said the DGCA should treat the grievances as a representation and asked Kamra to approach if it’s not satisfied with the regulator’s order.