Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plea Against Additional Haj Airfare Charge Amid Rising Fuel Prices, Says Non-Pilgrim Has No Locus

The Karnataka High Court on May 7 dismissed as not maintainable a writ petition challenging a circular issued by the Haj Committee of India demanding an additional ₹10,000/- towards differential airfare from Hajj pilgrims on account of the rising air fuel prices.The single-judge bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty pointed out in the order that the petitioner had not registered himself as a Haj pilgrim for the current year. Similarly, the 54-year-old petitioner has not deposited any sum with the committee to travel for Hajj this year. In light of these circumstances, the writ petition would not be maintainable, the court added.“…The demand for payment of differential amount of Rs.10,000/- raised vide Circular at Annexure-C dated 28.04.2026 is only from the pilgrims of Haj 2026 who have registered their names with the Haj Committee of India and have already paid/deposited the amount as aforesaid. Under the circumstances, petitioner cannot have any grievance as against the said circular, and therefore, he has no locus standi to question the same…”, the court noted in the order before dismissing the petition for not being maintainable.Younus Khan from Kolar, represented by Advocate Suhail Dil Nawaz, approached the High Court seeking the quashing of Circular No.Haj- 2026/39 dated 28.04.2026 and an interim stay on the operation and effect of the same.In the aforesaid circular issued by the All-India Haj Committee which comes under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the pilgrims were asked to pay an additional USD 100 / Rs. 10,000 as differential airfare over and above Rs. 2,77,300/- already collected from them.The circular mentioned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the rising jet fuel prices contributed to the airfare hike, at the instance of airlines seeking revision of base fares.The circular required the pilgrims of Hajj 2026 to deposit the differential airfare by 15 May, 2026.Before the High Court, the petitioner made the argument that the air tickets were booked much earlier, and the committee cannot insist on additional payment due to the ongoing war.While dismissing the plea, the court made it clear that only registered pilgrims who deposited the amount for Haj could potentially have a grievance against the circular.The plea had sought for a writ of mandamus from the court to restrain the respondent authorities, including All India Haj Committee, Karnataka State Wakf Committee and Ministry for Wakf & Minority Affairs, from mandating the additional airfare for the 2026 pilgrims. The petitioner also prayed for refunding the amount collected as differential airfare pursuant to the issuance of the impugned circular.Earlier, AIMIM Chief Assaduddin Owaisi had criticised the Haj committee's stance of imposing additional airfare. In a tweet on the X platform, the politician commented that the levy of additional charges is akin to the exploitation of pilgrims who save up their money for years to go for Haj.On the other hand, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju justified the hike by pointing out the dire situation on the ground since the Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF) prices have skyrocketed. Through X, he issued a statement that the airlines had sought for 400 Dollars differential airfare hike, which was later capped at 100 Dollars through negotiation.Case Title: Younus Khan v. Union of India & Ors.Case No.: Writ Petition No. 14702 of 2026Click Here To Read/Download Order

Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plea Against Additional Haj Airfare Charge Amid Rising Fuel Prices, Says Non-Pilgrim Has No Locus

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Karnataka High Court Dismisses Plea Against Additional Haj Airfare Charge Amid Rising Fuel Prices, Says Non-Pilgrim Has No Locus

Sebin James

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