Air India Peegate controvesy: Victim seeks SC guidelines on passenger misconduct

A 72-year-old woman, the victim of an Air India incident in which a passenger defecated during a flight, has approached the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines to deal with misbehavior on board planes.

Accused Shankar Mishra faces charges that he discharged himself on the victim while intoxicated on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26, 2022. Through her Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the woman sought directions from the apex court to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and airlines to direct SOPs to deal with such incidents of unruly behaviour.

It also asked the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA to ensure that the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) norms meet the highest internationally set standards and direct the DGCA and airlines to comply with the statutory SOP requirements. , operations manuals and reporting protocols to be followed by airline crew and personnel. She also asked the court to direct the media to delay reporting on the incident.

"An extensive national press report full of conjecture and conjecture seriously violated the rights of the petitioner as a victim under Article 21 of the Constitution and fairly affected the rights of the accused as well. Their rights to a free and fair trial have also been substantially affected by the selective leakage of the petitioner 'AIR SEWA's complaint, the release of the FIR and selective witness statements to the media to fit particular stories,'' she said in her statement. petition.

Accused Mishra was arrested from Bengaluru on January 6 and sent to judicial custody by a court here on January 7. He was later granted bail by a Delhi court which imposed various conditions. Later, Mishra was banned from flying for four months and approached the Delhi High Court to set up an appellate committee to hear his appeal against the order that labeled him an "unruly passenger" and banned him from flying for four months.