SC notice to Centre, DGCA, airlines on plea of woman for framing SOPs

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the plea of a 72-year-old woman, on whom a male co-passenger allegedly urinated on board an Air India flight in November last year, seeking a direction to the Centre, aviation regulator DGCA and airlines to frame Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to deal with such incidents.

“The petitioner seeks the formulation of adequate protocols by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation/DGCA in regard to the inappropriate behaviour of passengers on board aircraft flying to and from India and within India,” a bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said, issuing a notice to the Centre, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and some airline companies.

The bench also sought assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the case.

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The incident dates back to November 26, 2022. The accused, Sankar Mishra, was subsequently arrested and released on bail.

The woman in her plea alleged that the crew on board Air India’s New York-New Delhi flight, in which an inebriated

co-passenger urinated on her, had “actively coerced a settlement between her and the perpetrator”.