‘Need to make creative guidelines’, SC tells Center and DGCA on urination scandal in AI flight

Supreme Court On Urination Case: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 26) directed the Center and aviation regulator DGCA to develop guidelines to deal with unruly behavior of air passengers and stressed the need to take “some constructive” steps to deal with such incidents.

According to news agency PTI, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan was hearing the plea of ​​a 73-year-old woman, who has alleged that a male co-passenger during an Air India flight in November 2022 mixed her with alcohol. Had urinated on him while drunk. The petitioner sought directions to the Centre, DGCA and airlines to establish a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage such situations.

Justice Vishwanathan narrated the incident that happened to him

The bench requested Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to guide the concerned authorities in reviewing and updating the existing guidelines in line with international standards. Justice Vishwanathan said, “An incident happened with us recently. Two passengers were completely drunk. Went to a washroom and slept. The other passenger who was outside had a bag to vomit. The crew were all women and no one could open the door for about 30 to 35 minutes. The crew then requested my co-passenger to open the door and take him to his seat. It was a 2.40 hour long flight.”

Supreme Court had issued notice in 2023

In May 2023, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Central government, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and all airlines including Air India in response to a petition filed by a woman. During the proceedings, the woman’s counsel highlighted that the DGCA in its reply had claimed that all necessary measures had been taken, but the petitioner had made additional suggestions for improvements.

Solicitor General Bhati, representing the Centre, informed the court that an affidavit was submitted and guidelines and circulars were issued to address the issue of unruly passengers.

What is the matter?

A woman had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in March 2023, stating that she was forced to approach the Supreme Court due to the failure of Air India and DGCA to handle her issue with due care and responsibility. Hui.

It cited seven incidents of passenger misbehavior on flights between 2014 and 2023, alleging that the airlines concerned did not address these incidents appropriately. The PIL requested that the Center and DGCA ensure that civil aviation requirements are in line with the highest international standards.

The woman also raised concerns about the lack of clear guidelines for media reporting on such cases, arguing that unverified or speculative coverage of the cases in question could harm both victims and the accused.

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