HC raps IA for 'misbehaviour'

NEW DELHI, MAY 16. The Delhi High Court today took serious view of the Indian Airlines giving special treatment to politicians at the expense of other passengers, and even ``humiliating'' judges to accommodate MPs and MLAs.

Narrating his personal experience during the hearing of a petition challenging the Government notification on refusing Leave Travel Concessions to High Court Judges, the Chief Justice, Mr. Arijit Passayat, said ``on May 8 during a flight by the Indian Airlines, an air hostess came to me and asked to vacate the seat in the front row for an MP. She asked me to go to the back row as the MP wanted to sit in executive class''.

``If this is the attitude of the Indian Airlines, then who would like to travel by it? They have little respect even for judges,'' a Division Bench comprising Mr. Justice Passayat and Mr. Justice D.K. Jain observed.

Agreeing with the observations of the Bench, the standing counsel, Mr. H.S. Phoolka, said it was a ``serious matter'' and the court could take suo motu action against the airlines' officials concerned for such ``misbehavior''.

However, Mr. Justice Passayat said he was citing the incident as an example to the kind of service Indian Airlines was providing. Through numerous experiences it could be said the IA flight schedules were ``erratic'', he added.

``The flight which has to leave at five in the morning leaves at five in the evening. The guidelines are never followed by the IA authorities,'' the Bench ruled.

The Government, in a notification issued in April last year, had said the High Court judges were not entitled to claim LTC if they travelled by private airlines.

``However, if there are good and sufficient reasons to justify the travel by private airlines, the question relating to them can be considered on merits of each case,'' the notification issued by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs said.

A public interest litigation filed by an advocate, Mr. P. Kumar, had challenged the notification. The petitioner's counsel, Mr. Rajiv Bansal, said the IA was not only giving preference to politicians over other passengers in the flights, but also in lounges at airports, especially in small towns.

``Many a times, passengers are asked to vacate seats in the lounges to accommodate politicians,'' he said.

- PTI

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