Air India Urination Case: Supreme Court told Center and DGCA – make strict rules for such people

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has made an important comment on the urination issue in Air India. The Supreme Court has directed the Central Government and DGCA to make new guidelines on the misconduct of air passengers. The Court stressed the need for some creative measures to deal with such incidents. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan was hearing the petition of a 73-year-old woman. This woman had alleged that in November 2022, a male co-passenger on an Air India flight had urinated on her while intoxicated.

Learn about the case in detail

The petitioner woman sought direction to the Centre, DGCA and airlines to establish a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with such situations. The bench requested Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to guide the authorities concerned in reviewing the existing guidelines and updating them in line with international standards.

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Justice Vishwanathan narrated his/her ordeal

Justice Vishwanathan said that we recently had a similar experience. Two passengers were completely drunk. Went to a washroom and slept. The other one, who was outside, had a bag to vomit. The crew members were all women and no one could open the door for about 30 to 35 minutes. The crew member then requested my co-passenger to open the door and take him/her to the seat. This flight was a flight of 2 hours 40 minutes.

Supreme Court notice to DGCA and Center

In May 2023, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the central government, DGCA and all airlines including Air India in response to a petition filed by a woman. During the proceedings, the woman’s counsel pointed out that the DGCA in its reply claimed that all necessary measures had been taken, while the petitioner had given additional suggestions for improvements. Representing the Centre, Solicitor General Bhati informed the court that an affidavit has been filed, and guidelines and circulars have been issued to resolve the issue of unruly passengers.

PIL after urination scandal in Air India

The woman had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in March 2023. he/she said that Air India and DGCA did not take adequate action on his/her ordeal. he/she failed to handle it responsibly due to which he/she was forced to approach the Supreme Court. It cited seven incidents of passenger misbehavior on flights between 2014 and 2023. She alleged that the airline concerned did not handle these incidents properly.

The PIL requested that the Center and DGCA ensure that civil aviation requirements are in line with high international standards. It also expressed concern over the lack of clear guidelines for media reporting on such matters. This case is related to an incident that took place on an Air India flight in which a drunken male passenger urinated on an elderly woman.