TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy, who was banned by most domestic airlines in the country after he created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport, moved the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday.
Reddy had tried to throw a printer on the floor, and was also seen pushing a senior airline official after he arrived late for his IndiGo flight and was denied a ticket.
The Times of India reported that he called his alleged rowdyism a “trivial incident that was given the wrong colour", claiming, “Had I misbehaved with them, they would have lodged an FIR against me. Following the intervention of the ministry of civil aviation, I was even given a boarding pass."
This comes just days after regional airline TruJet denied a ticket to Reddy from Hyderabad to Vijayawada.
However, TruJet had to apologise to Reddy as they had not banned him, and an employee went ahead and refused a ticket to him, due to confusion.
Reddy, in his petition, also argued that imposing a ban on him without conducting an inquiry was "unlawful and contrary to the rights accorded by the Constitution".
He also contended that his age would not permit him to take up other modes of travel.
Last month, two videos from CCTV cameras had surfaced. While one showed Reddy shouting at airline officials and trying to throw a printer on the floor, the other showed him pushing a senior airline official.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju was present at the airport during the incident, but denied helping the MP. He clarified that he had only asked the airport director to look into the matter by examining the CCTV footage.
Following his violent behaviour, IndiGo barred the 73-year-old businessman-politician from using its flights. Other domestic airlines, including Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia and Vistara also followed suit.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)