Indigo Crisis, Weight loss Drug Patent, Personality Rights Lawsuits & More

“Technology must remain a servant of justice, not its substitute. It should amplify human judgment, not replace it.”

-CJI Surya Kant in his address at a symposium on Ensuring Justice for the Common Man

Indigo’s Day Out in Courts
After what can only be described as an unprecedented slate of disruptions and flight cancellations by Indigo, India’s civil aviation segment pretty much came down to its knees. Passengers stranded, hundreds of flights cancelled, airports facing operational issues, and other airlines prices skyrocketing. There was no way this issue would not have landed before the courts and like clockwork, two PILs were filed before Supreme Court and Delhi High Court.

The Delhi High Court gave the issue a hearing and raised very important and significant questions posing them mainly towards the ministry of civil aviation and the regulator of the sector. The PIL itself was junked on account of being ill-researched and filed in a rush, but the court took note of the issue and pointed out that not only did passengers suffer immensely but the crisis also impacted the economy. 

After getting less than satisfactory answers from the government and regulator’s counsel on why the crisis was not prevented and pre-empted, the court moved its focus towards what action can now be taken. With much of the heat in the hearing directed towards the authorities for their apparent lack of action prior to the crisis unfolded, it was Indigo ultimately that walked away with a direction from the court to ensure that it starts compensating the affected passengers – not just with refund of the cancelled tickets but a compensation over and above this to make up for the agony and distress they faced.

Key Rulings:

• Delhi High Court holds that airline pilots are workmen as under the Industrial Disputes Act regardless of the salary they get

Courts: 

• Delhi High Court asks Indigo to begin compensating the passengers who were stranded due to the airline’s disruption and cancellation of flights, pulls up the government and regulator asking what action can be taken 

• Indigo moves Delhi High Court for a refund of 9 billion rupees custom duty on re-importing of aircraft parts

• A single bench of the Delhi High Court allows India’s Sun Pharma to continue manufacturing and exporting its generic version of semaglutide drug in places without patent protection for Novo Nordisk, along the same lines as relief granted to Dr. Reddy’s earlier; a division bench meanwhile refused to stay an order allowing Dr. Reddy’s to manufacture and export its generic version of GLP-1 drug on an appeal by Novo Nordisk

• Delhi High Court asks Google, Meta and X to act on cricketer Sunil Gavaskar’s request to take down fake content featuring him; orders a stay on misuse of actor Salman Khan’s photos for unauthorised commercial use; asks social media platforms to act against misuse of Telugu actor NTR Junior’s personality rights

• Bombay High Court closes case against Chanda Kochhar and others in Octroi evasion case

Quasi Courts:

• SEBI clears insider trading charges against Pranav Adani and others in relation to Adani Green Energy Case

Other:

• Justice PS Narasimha will head the AI Committee reconstituted by the chief justice of India Surya Kant

The Big Listings:

• Dec 15: Supreme Court to hear a PIL in relation to judicial intervention in the Indigo disruption and cancellations

• Dec 15: Supreme Court to continue hearing bail pleas by students and activists in Delhi riots of 2020 case

• Dec 16: Delhi High Court to hear Apple Inc.’s plea against India’s competition law’s provisions on global turnover-based penalties on MNC

• Dec 17: Supreme Court to hear Delhi NCR air pollution matter

• December: Supreme Court to hear Sahara’s plea for court’s nod to sell its properties to Adani to raise funds

• January: Allahabad NCLT to hear Jaiprakash Associates’ Insolvency case for approval of successful bid

• Jan 19: Securities Appellate Tribunal to hear appeal by Jane Street challenging SEBI’s move to allegedly refuse access to important documents to the firm in the case against it

• Jan 22: Delhi High Court to hear issue relating to Indigo disruption and mass cancellation of flights

* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves: 

• Supreme Court designates former high court judges, including two chief justices as Senior Advocate

• Siddhartha Patnaik joins Hammurabi & Solomon

• Justice Nisha Banu to take charge in Kerala High Court by Dec 20, directs President

• Obhan & Associates and Mason & Associates merge to form one firm

• Nancy Roy made Managing Partner at Lall & Sethi

• Suvaaankoor Das joins Lex Consult as partner

• Vimal Choudhary leaves McKinsey’s to join Khaitan & Co.

• Mazag Andrabi joins Argus Partners as partner