Indian court dismisses legal bid to stop SpiceJet services due to safety concerns

An Indian court dismissed a legal plea from a local lawyer asking that operations of the low-cost carrier SpiceJet be ceased due to safety concerns.

Lawyer Rahul Bhardwaj filed the public interest litigation (PIL) after several incidents were reported on several SpiceJet passenger planes over the few months.

In the PIL, which was reported by Live Law, Bhardwaj asked the Court to stop SpiceJet from flying in India and to appoint a commission to investigate whether its operations are properly managed.

Bhardwaj alleged that the airline was not following safety requirements and that passengers’ lives were being put at risk due to technical malfunctions on SpiceJet aircraft.

However, the Court argued that it cannot make SpiceJet cease operations based on allegations provided in the PIL and outlined that all incidents are currently under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA).

The DGCA warned SpiceJet about safety oversight and maintenance on July 5, giving the airline three weeks to respond.

“It is also brought to the notice of this Court by the counsel appearing for DGCA that as and when an incident or matter is reported to DGCA, action is taken with quite a promptitude, action has been initiated to some flights and some show cause notices have been issued,” Indian court news outlet Live Law cited the Court documents.