Originally Posted by irishguy28

Airlines have no discretion in the matter.

If you fly to India on Airline A, they have to assess your ability to enter India. It doesn't matter if you show them another booking on another airline on a completely different ticket - that doesn't change the fact that you voluntarily entered into a contract with them to bring you to India. The airline has its own obligations, to check the entitlement of all of its passengers. You told them you want them to bring you to India, so they have to treat you as if you are entering India.

Airlines are penalised for bringing passengers into a country that they do not have the correct documents to enter, and would be required to remove you from the country again (they wouldn't do it for free; they'd recover the costs from you).

Do yourself a favour - ensure that you have whatever (transit) visas are necessary for you to make this journey. As far as Airline A is concerned, they are flying you to India where their responsibility for you ends, so they have to ensure (for their own sake) that you have the correct documents to enter India.