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The Bombay High Court has taken suo moto cognisance of the closure of Nagpur Airport everyday for 8 hours. 

The division bench of the high court comprising Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri of the Nagpur bench took the suo moto cognisance of a report published in the Lokmat Times of Nagpur edition.

The report dated 2.8.2024 stated that the operation of the Nagpur Airport is closed every day for eight hours since March 2024.

The reason cited for closure of the Airport for such a long period of eight hours during day time is due to repairing to be carried out to the runway.

The news item further disclosed that since March 2024 till this date there is hardly any repairing activity carried out. Due to closure of the Airport, the travellers of the Central India are facing hardship and inconvenience.

The high court while taking cognisance of the issue said that, "Considering the geographical location of the Nagpur City, being the centre of the country, the operation of the Airport is for the convenience of the people residing in Central India. In this background, we deem it appropriate to take cognizance based on the said news by treating the said news item as Public Interest Litigation," the order reads. 

The bench appointed Advocate Kartik Shukul as an Amicus to assist the Court.

The bench also issued notice to State of Maharashtra, through Principal Secretary, Department of Civil Aviation, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company, Ministry of Civil Aviation Government of India and the Multi Modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

The high court will hear the matter on 14 August at 2:30 PM.

Case title: Suo Moto PIL