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Kerala high court treats e-mail as petition

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

In a unique case, the Kerala high court has treated an e-mail it received as a petition and has ordered further proceedings.

The e-mail was sent to Chief Justice Arijit Pasayat by the Malayalees Association in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, complaining about the hike in airfare on the Kerala-Gulf sector by Air-India. A division bench consisting of Justices A R Lakshman and D Sreedevi has ordered issuance of notice to Air-India on the basis of the e-mail.

Judicial sources said this is perhaps the first time that the judiciary in India has taken legal cognizance of an e-mail. Sources said it signifies the need for applying information technology in the administration of justice.

The complaint from Sharjah comes in the wake of the decision by eight airlines operating on the sector to reduce the discount offered to passengers. The cut in discount has made airfares costlier by 15 to 20 per cent.

High airfares on the Kerala-Gulf sector has been a bone of contention between Keralites working in the Gulf and the airlines for a long time. Various associations of non-resident Keralites and the travel industry in the state had taken up the issue with various agencies in India without result.

Air-India says the fares from Kerala to different Gulf destinations are higher than that from other Indian cities. Air-India sources say it is not the distance and flying time that forms the basis for determining the fares though they have a bearing on the tariff. Sources said demand and supply is a major factor determining the fares.

"Like in the case of any other commodity or service, air fares are arrived at on the basis of demand and supply, after taking into account various cost elements. For example, from Dubai where the largest population is Indian, the demand for air travel to India is very high and as such the airlines tend to fix comparatively higher fares on this route. The airlines may have to offer cheaper fares on some other routes where people have to be induced to travel," the AI source said.

However, non-resident Indians and travel circles complain that a government agency like Air-India cannot exploit passengers. Most of the passengers on the Kerala-Gulf sector, they say, are labourers who cannot afford to visit their home state more than once in two or three years.

Interestingly, the cut in discount is not applicable for Bombay and Delhi. This, sources say, lends credence to their allegation that the North Indian lobby has been conspiring against airports in south India, especially Kerala, from where a large number of people work in the Gulf.

Travel sources say the cut in discount would induce passengers from Kerala to take Gulf flights from either Bombay or Delhi. A local daily said there has been a large diversion of passengers from Kerala to Bombay after the discount was cut. Several travel operators have introduced special bus services from Kerala to Bombay to take advantage of the cheaper air fares in Bombay.

Travel, trade and political circles in Kerala have often voiced concern over the neglect of airports in Kerala. Many including Kerala Assembly Speaker M Vijayakumar have complained against the Bombay lobby several times in the past. They feel the state's airports have not witnessed development, despite ranking high in the generation of revenue, as a result of lobbying in the civil aviation department.

Thiruvananthapuram airport received an allocation of less than Rs 100 million after it was upgraded as an international airport a decade ago. The state government is now considering the development of the airport by mobilising its resources.

Kozhikode airport was expanded and a new airport at Kochi built in this manner. Even though Kochi airport has facilities matching an international airport, the civil aviation authorities have not responded yet to the state government's plea to recognise it as an international airport.

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