Date : 31th May 2025

To,
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar
CEO
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL)
GMR Group, IGI Airport
New Delhi – 110037

Subject: Protest Against Arbitrary Fee Hike on App-Based Taxi Pickups at Delhi Airport – Discriminatory, Exploitative, and Legally Unjustified

Respected Sir

This is to formally register my strong objection to DIAL's sudden and arbitrary hike in pickup charges for app-based taxi services at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The revised charge of ₹245 plus GST (₹289 total) — up from ₹173 earlier — represents a massive 40% increase on a fee already unjustified in structure and substance. This is an exploitative move targeting one specific class of passengers: poor and middle-class travelers who rely on app-based transport.

Gross Discrimination & Unfair Targeting
It is alarming to note that this exploitative fee is levied only on app-based taxis, while a large number of other vehicles using the same airport facilities remain completely exempt from similar charges:

 Kali-Peeli taxi operators, who operate under a regulated scheme
 Government vehicles, paramilitary forces, and police vehicles
 Even private operators with union clout face no such levy

Let’s call a spade a spade: Every attempt to impose fees on these politically or union-backed groups has failed, but instead of ensuring uniformity and fairness, DIAL has chosen to prey on those without union protection — namely, ordinary app-based taxi users and working-class drivers.

This kind of selective monetization reeks of institutional bias and amounts to an abuse of dominance and discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution.

Legal & Ethical Issues Involved

1. Violation of Equality Principle (Art. 14)
Targeting app-based taxis alone without applying the same to others using identical airport infrastructure is unconstitutional and arbitrary.

2. Absence of Value or Service Justification
The so-called pickup zones are poorly maintained. There is no enhanced service, comfort, or security—just a toll booth and an inflated bill.

3. Lack of Regulatory Oversight
This charge falls under DIAL’s “non-aeronautical revenue” and conveniently escapes scrutiny from AERA, making it a self-regulated, monopolistic levy on the flying public.

4. Price Disproportion and Passenger Exploitation
In many short-trip scenarios, the airport pickup fee alone makes up 50% or more of the fare, turning a budget ride into a luxury burden.

This Must Stop — Demands:
I call upon your offices to:
1. Immediately roll back the fee to pre-hike levels (₹173 including GST)
2. Apply any fee policy uniformly to all commercial categories, including Kali-Peeli taxis and other exempt vehicles
3. Initiate public consultation and regulatory review before any future hike
4. Institute a consumer grievance mechanism on-site to report fare exploitation

Final Notice Before Legal Action
If the matter is not resolved within 7 working days, I will be constrained to move the Hon’ble High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution through Public Interest Litigation, seeking judicial intervention against this discriminatory, illegal, and anti-people policy.

Please treat this as a pre-litigation notice in the public interest.

Yours sincerely,

Ajay Kummar Pandey

Copy to )
1. Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India
2. Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
3. Chairman, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)
4. Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
5. Commissioner, Transport Department, GNCTD
6. CEOs, Ola Cabs & Uber India
7. Media Houses & Consumer Rights Forums