Delhi HC asks DGCA to take strict action against passengers violating mask norms at airports

On Friday, the Delhi High Court ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take strong action against travellers who violate airport mask regulations.

The court stated that the epidemic has not subsided and continues to rear its ugly head. The court further stated that anyone found breaking the rules should be arrested, fined, and placed on a no-fly list.

Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta of the Supreme Court of India urged the DGCA to ensure that the rules are observed, and that the DGCA take stern action against passengers and anyone who break masking and hygiene regulations.

The court also took note of DGCA counsel’s assertion that the agency had taken considerable steps to implement mask-wearing regulations at airports and on planes.

The court ordered the DGCA to make a report in this respect, and the issue was rescheduled for July 18, 2022.

The court was considering a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Delhi High Court on its own initiative last year in response to a Single-Judge Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar’s decision not to adopt COVID-19 in the airport. The Delhi High Court last took suo motu cognizance after seeing an unsettling circumstance on March 5th, 2021, in which passengers on an Air India aircraft from Kolkata to Delhi did not wear masks.