NEW DELHI: A controversy has erupted over IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir deciding not to fly standup comedian Kunal Kamra after he confronted TV anchor Arnab Goswami on a Mumbai-Lucknow IndiGo flight Tuesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday reiterated “the action taken by airlines is in complete consonance with (rules) on handling of unruly passengers” and that the matter will be referred to an internal committee that will give its final decision in 30 days which shall be binding on IndiGo.The DGCA's clarification came after HuffPost India carried an article quoting DGCA chief Arun Kumar as saying that the six-month ban by IndiGo and till-further-notice banning by others was a “clear violation of rules”. The HuffPost article said: “Kumar said that as per DGCA rules, in case of any unruly behaviour restricted to verbal confrontation, the airlines should first impose a temporary ban of 30 days on the passenger and conduct an internal enquiry headed by a retired judge into the incident.”The DGCA clarification said “HUFFPOST has misquoted/misrepresented the facts as stated by the Director General of Civil Aviation.”While unruly behaviour on flights is unacceptable, DGCA’s civil aviation requirement (CAR or rules) on “handling of unruly passengers” enacted in September 2017 clearly lay down the process for putting a person on the no-fly list and the duration for which that can be done. The idea is to prevent any misuse.According to rules, the pilot-in-command of the flight on which the unruly behaviour takes place should start the process by referring the same to the airline that will then form an internal committee headed by a retired judge. This panel will need to decide within 30 days whether the person is guilty of unruly behaviour and if so, how long the no-fly period should be.Pending a decision, only the airline concerned can bar the allegedly disruptive passenger from flying for a maximum of 30 days. In case the committee fails to take a decision in 30 days, the passenger will be free to fly.A person put on no-fly list (NFL) by one airline can still travel with other carriers. Other Indian airlines are, however, free to bar the person for a similar period.Going by the DGCA's rules, IndiGo could have grounded Kamra for 30 days. Once a decision was taken by it on Kamra’s guilt and grounding period within those 30 days, other airlines would have been free to follow suit.Before these 2017 rules were notified, there was no formal framework for NFL. The instances of a Shiv Sena MP threatening to beat up an Air India staffer on board an aircraft with his slippers and then a TDP MP threatening airline staffers at an airport in Andhra had happened before these rules were enacted. Both times, the airline whose staff had been threatened had grounded the MP and all other Indian airlines had followed suit.