No Paediatric Care? Parents Move Delhi HC After Daughter Dies Following Flight Emergency
Parents of a 6-year-old girl move Delhi HC to preserve flight and airport records after her death following a medical emergency on a London-Delhi flight.
The parents of a six-and-a-half-year-old girl have moved the Delhi High Court in a desperate bid to ensure that critical evidence is not erased following a tragic onboard medical emergency that led to their daughter's death. The petitioners are seeking the preservation, sealing, and production of all records related to the incident that occurred during a flight from London to New Delhi on September 8, 2026.
A Nightmare at 30,000 Feet
According to the petition, the young girl, Zaynab Mohammadi, was travelling from London to Delhi with her parents and brother aboard a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight. During the journey, Zaynab suddenly collapsed. The parents allege a series of systemic failures during this crisis:
- Equipment Failure: It is contended that the crew could not measure the child's blood pressure due to a lack of battery.
- Lack of Supplies: The petition states that no paediatric cannula was available on board the aircraft.
- Denied Diversion: The family claims that a request to divert the flight to the nearest available medical facility was declined.
Chaos Upon Landing at IGI Airport
The ordeal did not end with the landing. The petitioners allege that upon arriving at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, there was no ambulance waiting at the aircraft. When Zaynab was finally taken to the airport's medical facility, the attending doctor reportedly informed the parents that the facility had no arrangements to treat children under the age of 12.
The situation turned critical at the airport when the child suffered a cardiac arrest. She required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for approximately one and a half hours. After being moved to a second facility, where her pulse dropped again and CPR was performed once more, she was rushed by ambulance to Medanta The Medicity in Gurugram during the intervening night of September 8 and 9, 2026.
The Final Struggle
Zaynab was admitted to the PICU of Medanta The Medicity at 1:44 AM. A CT scan conducted at the hospital revealed diffuse cerebral oedema resulting from a hypoxic ischaemic insult. Despite medical efforts, the young girl passed away on October 16, 2026, and was buried in Aligarh the same day. Notably, no post-mortem was conducted.
Legal Battle for Accountability
Represented by Advocate Dr. Farrukh Khan and a team of lawyers, the parents expressed fear that vital evidence is being lost. They revealed that while a complaint was lodged with the police, no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered to date.
The counsel argued that the following records are the only way to establish accountability:
- Flight records and Air Traffic Control (ATC) recordings.
- CCTV footage from Terminal 3 of IGI Airport.
- Detailed medical records from the airport and the hospital.
Because these records are largely electronic and often overwritten in the ordinary course of business, the petitioners urged the court to secure them immediately.
Court's Intervention
Justice Amit Mahajan has taken the matter seriously, issuing notices to a wide array of respondents, including:
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA.
- The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Airport Authority of India.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The Delhi Government, the Commissioner of Police, and the SHO of the IGI police station.
- Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited, and Global Health Limited (the operator of Medanta Medicity).
Justice Mahajan has directed all respondents to preserve all records mentioned in the petition to the extent they are available today. The court has granted the respondents liberty to file their replies, and the matter is now scheduled for a hearing on February 5, 2027.