DGCA terms six-month ban on Kunal Kamra inappropriate, forms internal committee
New Delhi : Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has broken silence over the six-month ban handed to comedian Kunal Kamra for his inappropriate behaviour with Arnab Goswami on one of the domestic flights. The authority has claimed that the ban is a clear violation of due process in such matters.
The sources have indicated that the imposed ban is not against the rule, but there is a process which needs to be followed before coming to such conclusion.
Several flights have banned Kunal Kamra for six months for allegedly heckling Arnab Goswami with a sarcastic tone of how he does reporting on the national television.
According to the sources, Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) state that on receipt of a complaint an internal committee must be formed, within 30 days to probe the matter. The decision taken by the committee can be appealed against in an appellate body of the Civil Aviation Ministry and a court.
Meanwhile, the accused passenger can be handed a temporary ban of 30 days.
In an official statement, the DGCA confirmed this, saying "the matter is to be referred to the internal committee" that will give a final decision, within 30 days, that will be "binding on the airline concerned".
However, the governing authority has not mentioned if there will be any changes on the issued six months ban by at least four airline carriers.
Indigo tweeted: "In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour. ½"
"Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable and endangers safety of air travellers. We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned," Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had posted on Twitter.
According to the DGCA, there are three categories in the list of passengers banned from flying.
The first of these, which appears to be closest to the Civil Aviation Minister's description of Mr Kamra's behaviour - i.e. "offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create a disturbance" - is "disruptive behaviour", for which the maximum punishment is only a three-month ban.
The other two - "physically abusive behaviour" and "endangering aircraft and passengers" - carry bans of six months and two years, respectively.
