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The Branch Manager, Indigo Airlines, Kolkata & Anr. v. Kalpana Rani Debbarma & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 94Decided 28 Jan 2020
Civil Appeal Nos. 778-779 of 2020
Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

The respondents had checked in for an IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Agartala and were issued boarding passes, but failed to reach the boarding gate before it closed and were treated as a "Gate No Show." They claimed the airline's ground staff left them behind without informing them and snatched away their boarding passes, forcing them to spend two nights in a Kolkata hotel. The District Consumer Forum, the State Commission, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had all ruled in the passengers' favour, awarding compensation and costs against the airline.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the consumer fora had wrongly shifted the burden of proof onto the airline without the complainants first establishing the basic facts of any deficiency in service. The complaint did not allege that any announcement was missed, or that the passengers sought and were denied assistance from ground staff, between the time their boarding passes were issued (07:35 a.m.) and the boarding gate's closure (08:58 a.m.). The Court distinguished "Gate No Show" (passenger's own failure to report in time) from "denied boarding" (airline's fault), holding that under the airline's Conditions of Carriage a Gate No Show only entitles a passenger to a refund of government/airport fees, not full compensation. Finding no proven deficiency in service, the Court set aside the orders of all three consumer fora and dismissed the original complaint, while directing that the amount already deposited and withdrawn by the respondents need not be refunded.

Lesson Learnt

Passengers who are issued a boarding pass must proceed promptly to the boarding gate well before the stipulated cut-off (often 25 minutes before departure); airlines are not obliged to escort or wait for a passenger who fails to do so, and a consumer complaint must specifically plead and prove facts showing a deficiency in service rather than relying on sympathy.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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