Kunal Kamra ban: Delhi HC gives DGCA eight weeks to decide on comedian’s complaint against airlines

The Delhi High Court on Thursday gave the Directorate General of Civil Aviation eight weeks to decide on the representation given by comedian Kunal Kamra against the airlines that banned him for flying after he heckled journalist Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight, PTI reported.

The DGCA told the court that it will look into Kamra’s representation. The court was informed that IndiGo had reduced the ban on Kamra to three months from six months. The DGCA said the decision was taken during an Internal Complaints Committee, constituted by IndiGo, reported Bar and Bench.

Following this, Justice Navin Chawla disposed of Kamra’s petition, in which he had claimed that the airlines had imposed the flying ban on him even when there was no complaint. Kamra’s plea had noted that he had been punished without due process, adding that no internal committee had been formed.

Budget airline IndiGo banned Kamra on January 28 after he tweeted a video of his heckling of Goswami on a Mumbai-Lucknow flight. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri issued an advisory to all carriers to take action against Kamra. Within a day, three other airlines – Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir – also prohibited him from flying “until further notice”.

The comedian approached the High Court to get the bans revoked and sought action against the airlines for taking the steps in alleged violation of Civil Aviation Requirements. He had also sent a legal notice to IndiGo on February 1 to have the suspension revoked immediately and to tender an unconditional apology through all media platforms.

On Tuesday, the High Court had said the DGCA should not have certified action of the airlines other than IndiGo. The court said the aviation regulator should have looked into Kamra’s complaint before initiating action.

In his petition, Kamra pointed out that Goswami did not make any complaints nor did he request the intervention of the cabin crew at any point of time during the incident, Live Law reported. He added that he apologised to each crew member and both pilots individually for any inconvenience that he may have caused.