Kunal Kamra Airlines Ban: Delhi High Court Questions DGCA Action

Last month, IndiGo had barred the stand-up comedian for six months from using its services for allegedly portraying "unacceptable behaviour" onboard its flight.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said aviation regulator DGCA ought not to have certified action of airlines other than Indigo, which imposed an indefinite flying ban without an inquiry on stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for allegedly heckling a TV journalist on a flight. In his petition, Mr. Kamra said he was banned by IndiGo for a six-month period before its internal committee even arrived at a decision while other airlines – Air India, Spicejet and GoAir – imposed an indefinite ban on him. The comedian, represented by senior advocates Vivek Tankha, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Mohit Mathur, has moved the high court seeking directions to DGCA to direct the airlines to revoke the ban. He has also sought action against the airlines for taking the action in alleged violation of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR). Justice Naveen Chawla said that the regulatory body should not have certified actions of airlines other than IndiGo to ban Kamra without conducting inquiry. The matter will now be heard on February 27. Last month, IndiGo had barred the stand-up comedian for six months from using its services for allegedly portraying "unacceptable behaviour" onboard its flight. The airline claimed that Kamra, while travelling on a Mumbai-Lucknow IndiGo flight, provoked a TV news anchor by asking questions over his news presentation style. Mr. Kamra has also sought directions to the DGCA to expeditiously decide his representation to take action against the airlines. With agency inputs