NEW DELHI — In a country where the aviation market runs on surge pricing, a man walked into the Supreme Court with a simple complaint.
Airfares had risen by as much as 700%, he said. This was arbitrary, he argued, violative of Article 14, the right to equality. Air travel, in 2026, is not luxury. It is essential service. Fix it.
It was an oral mentioning — not even a full hearing. A 30-second window to beg the court to list a case urgently.
The response came even faster.
“Don't travel by air. Next case.”
That was Justice Vikram Nath. No notice. No direction to the government. No question to the airlines. No order passed. The plea died right there in the mentioning queue.
Read more - SC Says Saying No Means Cruelty
Let's unpack what just happened in that exchange.
First, the complaint is not imaginary. Anyone who has booked a last-minute ticket from Delhi to Patna during Chhath, Delhi to Bengaluru on a Monday morning, or Srinagar to Delhi when flights get cancelled, knows the feeling of seeing Rs 5,000 become Rs 35,000 overnight. DGCA publishes no fare caps. Airlines have free rein to use dynamic pricing algorithms. Festival rush means the poorest migrants pay the highest price to get home.
Second, the legal argument may be weak — aviation is de-regulated, Article 14 claims against private airlines are a stretch, courts cannot fix prices — but that is for a hearing to decide. The job of a mentioning is to decide listing. Not merits.
Third, "Don't travel by air" is the same logic that once told us: If you can't afford medicines, don't fall sick. If roads are broken, don't drive. If trains are crowded, don't travel. If there's pollution in the air. Just don't breath. Simple. It turns an essential connectivity question into a lifestyle choice.
It also ignores reality. For a patient in the Northeast who needs a transplant in Delhi, for a student who has to reach a NEET centre, for a worker in the Gulf connecting via Mumbai — "don't fly" is not an option. They fly because there is no train, no time, no alternative.
Read more - Festival Dhamaka: GST Mop-Up Jumps 23%
The court did not have to take the case. It could have said, this belongs to DGCA, go to High Court, file a proper PIL with data, this is a policy matter. All would be judicially sound reasons to not entertain.
Instead it chose dismissal by punchline.
No order means there is nothing to appeal, nothing to cite, nothing to fix. The fare algorithm will keep surging. The next passenger will keep paying 700% more. And the answer on record will remain — if you think flying is too expensive, just don't.
*Tags:* #SupremeCourt #JusticeVikramNath #Airfare #Aviation #DGCA #Article14 #OralMentioning #FlightPrices #AccessToJustice #SurgePricing