New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Haj Tourist Operators Policy to impose conditions with a view to restricting the registration of an operator keeping in mind the safety and comfort of Haj pilgrims.
A Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre accepted the Centre’s submission that the prime consideration in this matter should not be the individual rights of these Private Tour Operators (PTOs) whose only motive is to secure economic benefits from the allotment of Haj quota, but the safety and comfort of the Haj pilgrims.
The Bench said the Government of India must have the necessary freedom to make its own assessment regarding the suitability of the PTO in this regard. The scheme itself makes it abundantly clear that any PTO once qualified shall “remain qualified unless it is otherwise disqualified by the Government of India for valid reasons.” Therefore, it is always open to the Government to disqualify any registered PTO for subsequent year, if there is rational complaint against the service rendered by that PTO in any previous year from any one of the pilgrims of that year or any other legally tenable information or material which calls for disqualification of such a PTO.
