Consumer Online Foundation takes ADF battle to SC APJ SLG Kachwaha brief

Consumer Online Foundation (COF), a Delhi-based consumer rights group, has filed a fresh petition on the levy of an Airport Development Fee (ADF) by the Delhi Airport on passengers. Earlier in August, the Delhi High Court had okayed the levy of an ADF. A battery of lawyers, including Senior Counsels Fali Nariman and Vinod Bobde, briefed by Kachwaha & Partners’ Meenakshi Arora [pictured] and APJ SLG’s Prashant Kumar are appearing for the Petitioner..The SC Bench issued notice and sought reply from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL)..Consumer Online Foundation (COF), a Delhi-based consumer rights group founded by Joseph Pookkatt of APJ SLG Law, has filed a fresh petition on the levy of an Airport Development Fee (ADF) by the Delhi Airport on passengers. Earlier in August, the Delhi High Court had okayed the levy of an ADF. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice Manmohan had held that it found “no irregularities attached to the imposition of development charges.”.COF in its petition said that Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which is the lessee of Airports Authority of India (AAI), had no jurisdiction to charge the fees and was doing so without any authority. COF’s case is that the ADF is illegal and without the sanction and authority of law, and is in violation of the AAI Act..Both DIAL and the Mumbai International Airport Limited have been charging Rs. 200 from outgoing domestic and Rs 1,300 from international passengers since March 1 this year. The petition alleges that ADF to the tune of Rs. 1,827 crores has been collected without the sanction of law, by way of mere letters..A battery of lawyers, including Senior Counsels Fali Nariman and Vinod Bobde, briefed by Kachwaha & Partners’ Meenakshi Arora [pictured] and APJ SLG’s Prashant Kumar are appearing for the Petitioner..Justices R.V. Raveendran and G.S. Singhvi issued notice and sought reply from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). Several similar petitions have previously been filed before the Karnataka High Court in 2008 challenging the levy of a User Development Fee, the equivalent of an ADF, at the Bangalore International Airport. However, the Karnataka High Court declined to intervene in the matter..COF is a registered Trust formed with the motive of ensuring that modern technologies and communication medium are used to sub serve the greater common good and works in the area on consumer awareness. COF has also filed a complaint before the Competition Commission on the interoperability of DTH boxes.