The Kerala High Court has issued notice to the Digi Yatra Foundation on a public interest litigation (PIL) raising concerns over the protection of passengers' personal data collected at airports through digital systems such as Digi Yatra.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M was hearing the petition, which alleged potential risks in the collection, storage and processing of sensitive passenger data at airports across India.

The petitioner, C R Neelakandan, sought interim directions to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to ensure that passenger data is handled in strict compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.

The plea also sought a temporary restraint on airport operators and their commercial partners from sharing, commercially exploiting, or disclosing passengers' personal data to third parties without authorisation. It further requested a stay on pending tenders or contractual arrangements involving private entities where passenger data collection or processing is involved until adequate data protection clauses are incorporated.

The court directed that notice be issued to the Digi Yatra Foundation, a non-profit company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, which is involved in implementing the Digi Yatra digital travel platform.

The bench also asked counsel for the Union government to inform whether a board has been constituted under Section 18 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. If such a board exists, details of its constitution are to be placed before the court through an affidavit.

The court also permitted the petitioner to file a supplementary affidavit citing specific instances where passenger data confidentiality may have been breached.

The matter has been posted for further consideration on March 19, 2026.
(With LiveLaw inputs)