Supreme Court on Monday set a deadline of Sept 7 for govt to frame new aviation rules to deal with complaints of arbitrary airline ticket pricing and inadequate regulatory oversight.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta granted three weeks’ time after govt sought more time to frame rules. Additional solicitor general Anil Kaushik placed before the bench the draft rules in a sealed envelope for the court’s perusal. The bench, after going through the draft rules, directed govt to finalise them by Sept 7 when it will take up the case for further hearing.The petitioner argued airlines were charging passengers exorbitant fares during festivals and holidays and alleged even govt’s existing official memorandum was not being followed. He referred to a statement made by civil aviation minister in Parliament that govt could not impose cap on airfares.
