Diwakar Reddy airport row: Hyderabad HC issues notice to domestic airlines for banning TDP MP

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday issued “urgent notices” to respondents on a petition filed by TDP MP J C Diwakar Reddy challenging the flying ban imposed on him by some of the domestic airlines. [caption id=“attachment_3662801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy. PTI[/caption] Justice S V Bhatt directed the court registry to issue “urgent notices” by e-mail to the respondents and posted the matter to 21 July for further hearing. Almost all domestic airlines have banned the TDP lawmaker from flying in their planes following his alleged unruly behaviour with IndiGo staff at the Visakhapatnam airport on 15 June. In his petition, Reddy has made the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA, Air India, Jet Airways, Vistara Airlines, IndiGo, GoAir, AirAsia, SpiceJet and Turbo Megha Airways as respondents. The Lok Sabha MP from Anantapur had allegedly created a ruckus at the airport after he was not allowed boarding by IndiGo for being late. In the petition, he sought a direction declaring action of respondents in imposing flying ban on him as “illegal, arbitrary, violative of principle of natural justice and to consequently direct the respondents to forthwith allow the petitioner to fly in all domestic flights”. Reddy had said the incident was “blown out of proportion”.