Indigo Airlines - Denied boarding due to webcheckin which was behind a paywall

Date: ** Oct ****
Location: Guwahati Airport

I booked flights to Leh *E-**** via Delhi *E-**** from Guwahati Airport through Paytm. As the airline enforces mandatory web-checkin, i tried to lookup for the same and realised that it's behind a paywall. Basically, none of the seats were for free and one can't proceed further without selecting one. So, I decided to do it at the airport kiosk and reached the venue at *.**am, an hour before the departure.

There were delays at the baggage screening which completed around *.**am. There were at least * other people next in line waiting for the same flight which was scheduled to leave at *.**am. The boarding starts **mins before the departure as per the ticket.

After the baggage screening, I was denied check-in, claiming that the counter is closed and I was spit-balled to visit the airline's booking counter. The staff at the counter was rude and started selling me the tickets for the next set of flights. I was deliberately delayed with unnecessary quarrels, claiming that I was misleading them about my destination and hence they couldn't accomodate my seat. The people who stood in line after me were given a through. So, the major point of contention from the support staff was that I didn't do the web check-in which was behind a paywall. When I raised the point about why the web-checkin has to be paid, the support staff replied, "It's Business".