Airlines in India will be fined 50,000 rupees ($736; £594) if their planes release human waste from toilets in the air, a court has ruled, according to BBC.

A petitioner had alleged that aircraft had been dumping waste over residential areas near the airport in Delhi.

Plane toilets store human waste in special tanks.

These are normally disposed of once the plane has landed. But international aviation authorities acknowledge that lavatory leaks can occur in the air.

A court has asked the aviation regulator to make sure that aircraft do not release human waste from air while landing or anywhere near the airports.