Supreme Court Advocate Travelling With 3-Year-Old Assaulted On IndiGo Flight; FIR After Vivek Tankha’s Intervention

The alleged assault took place while passengers were disembarking from the flight. According to Tankha, the advocate was carrying his three-year-old child in his lap when another passenger allegedly manhandled, threatened and abused him in full public view.

Although the identity of the advocate has not been disclosed, Tankha described him as a "renowned Supreme Court advocate" and expressed concern over the manner in which the incident was handled by the authorities.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, Tankha alleged that instead of immediately detaining the accused passenger, the police allowed him to leave the aircraft and the airport without any restraint.

"The question is, when a civilized passenger who was with a child was brutally beaten while getting off the plane by some thug-like person, why wasn't that person detained while getting off? Sir, this is no policing. Then why have police at the airport—only to check bonafide passengers?" Tankha wrote while tagging the Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh.

He further questioned the purpose of airport policing if a person accused of assaulting another passenger could simply walk away after the incident.

"Why was the 'goon' allowed to leave the aircraft and the airport in Jabalpur today, despite manhandling a gentleman passenger with a three-year-old child in full view? Is the airport police merely for checking bonafide travellers? Goons allowed to walk past," another post read.

Tankha also criticised the conduct of the local police after the incident, alleging that instead of promptly proceeding against the accused, the advocate and his three-year-old child were made to remain at Khamaria Police Station for nearly four hours.

"A scuffle, threats, and utter humiliation took place with a renowned Supreme Court advocate on an IndiGo flight. A three-year-old child was in his lap. Instead of catching the culprit, the Jabalpur police had the lawyer and the child waiting at Khamaria police station for four hours. Government's attitude toward tourists. Very poor conduct," he posted.

According to Tankha, the incident raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of airport security and the response mechanism available to passengers facing violence within airport premises or onboard aircraft.

The allegations have sparked questions over whether airport police and security personnel discharged their responsibilities appropriately when the alleged assault occurred before passengers had fully exited the aircraft.

Following the incident, an FIR has been registered against the accused passenger. However, details regarding the offences invoked and the identity of the accused have not yet been made public. Neither IndiGo nor the Madhya Pradesh Police had issued an official statement explaining the sequence of events or responding to the allegations at the time this report was filed.

The identity of the senior Supreme Court advocate has also not been officially disclosed.