The Delhi High Court on Wednesday remarked that a petition seeking refunds for those who had booked tickets for Jet Airways flights was filed only for publicity, PTI reported. The court said it will hear the plea on May 1.

On April 17, the cash-trapped Jet Airways had decided to suspend all its operations, domestic as well as international, after its lenders, led by State Bank of India, were unable to consider its request for funding.

The petition sought directions to the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General for Civil Aviation to ensure full refunds or provide passengers with alternative modes of travel. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice AJ Bhambhani observed that the petition had been shared in the media even before it came up for hearing.

The petition, filed by activist Bejon Kumar Misra, said that the sudden suspension of services by Jet Airways had resulted in a major crisis for the passengers, who were not informed about it earlier. “It is common knowledge that all competitor airlines have exorbitantly increased their airfares and the toothless and vulnerable consumers are constrained to suffer not only in terms of money, but also in terms of mental harassment of unprecedented scale,” the plea said.

The petition said that more than Rs 360 crore of the passengers’ money was under threat because of its refund of ticket value.