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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has the authority to act against pilots who are not in compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), the Delhi High Court said on Wednesday while deciding the plea of Akasa Air. The plea had sought DGCA action against pilots who resigned without serving their notice period, allegedly forcing the airline to cancel several flights a day.
The court’s interim order noted that in case an employment contract was breached, the Civil Aviation Requirements became operative and then the DGCA has the power to act in accordance with them.
The civil aviation regulator had earlier told the court that the rules of mandatory notice period had been challenged in another case pending before the same court, “restraining the DGCA from taking any action against the parties”. The court rejected this stance and said there was “no absolute restraint” on the regulator to act in accordance with the civil aviation rules.
“The said orders are conditional upon the pilots and airlines duly compliant with the terms of the contract. In case of non-compliance, the CAR 2017 becomes operative and respondent no. 1 (DGCA) is at a liberty to act in accordance with the CAR 2017 and under the extant law against the party in breach,” Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said. “There is no absolute restraint against respondents from taking action as contended by respondent no. 1 and 2 (DGCA and Ministry of Civil Aviation),” Justice Arora said.
However, the court said the issue of jurisdiction would be decided in the final order and directions to the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation could wait.
The court said pilots who were resigning from their posts without serving their notice period during the pendency of the present case would be at their “own risk”. “It is made clear that the pendency of this petition, in case a pilot acts in breach of the minimum contractual notice period, as specified under his or her employment agreement, then such an action will be at the pilot’s own risk and will be subject to the outcome of the present petition,” the court said.
The order also made it clear that the airline was not seeking an action against the 43 pilots who had already resigned.
The court will hear the case at large now from October 13.
The court said that Akasa’s petition was seeking “clarification of the interim orders dated July 25, 2018 and October 11, 2019 and a direction to the respondent no. 1 (DGCA) to take appropriate action as per extant law for possible future infractions by existing employee pilots of the petitioner”.
“As regards the issue of clarification of interim orders dated 25th July 2018 and 11th October 2019, this court is of the opinion that the orders are clear and unequivocal in as much as the said orders are conditional upon the pilots and airlines duly compliant with the terms of the contract and in case of non compliance the CAR 2017 becomes operative,” the court said.
Various pilot groups had moved the Delhi High Court in 2017 against the DGCA rule fixing the notice period, following which the HC in July 2018 granted an interim stay on the implementation of the rule and restricted the DGCA from taking any coercive action against pilots. It said that the terms of contract between pilots and airlines would prevail.
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