12 July,2016 07:01 AM IST | | A Correspondent
The PIL claims parking fee charged at the international airport is illegal and demands its abolition
The Bombay High Court, while hearing a PIL demanding abolition of parking charges at Mumbai's international airport, ordered Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airport Authority of India (AAI), central and state government to appear before court beside Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) on the next hearing date and justify their decision.
Vice President of MNS Youth Wing Akhil Chitre, in his PIL filed on June 25, states that the charges - Rs 110 charged for entrance to Terminal 2, after every hour spent inside and waiting over five minutes in the domestic airport, Rs 1,100 charged from private vehicles on losing the parking receipt and R1,500 from commercial vehicles - are illegal.
"The respondents requested the court that the PIL can be heard without any urgency and that there is no need to issue notice. But they were refuted," Chitre's lawyer said.
The PIL questions if the collection of entry fees in the guise of parking charges is legally tenable and if the authorities are entitled to charge fine for loss of parking ticket.
It also goes on to question if allowing vehicle parking outside the terminal building is illegal according to Standards and Recommended Practices Annex XVII of The International Civil Aviation Organisation.
"We decided to move the court after the local police proved to be of no help. They said the matter did not come under their jurisdiction," Chitre said while adding that the charges were illegal according to the Airport Authority of India (Management of Airports) Regulations 2003.
The next date of hearing has been fixed on August 3.
