Delhi HC issues contempt notices to striking AI pilots, IPG

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued contempt notices to 67 striking Air India pilots and their representative body, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), for disobeying its earlier order by which their stir was termed as illegal.

"Issue notices on this application (of Air India management) to the non-applicant (respondents 1 to 68). Notice shall indicate that the non-applicants (pilots) shall file their replies to it. List the matter on July 13," Justice Reva Khetrapal said.

The court's order came on a fresh application by Air India management seeking initiation of civil contempt proceedings against the striking pilots for their "flagrant violation" of an earlier order which did not only term the strike as illegal, but had asked them to resume work.

Lalit Bhasin, counsel for Air India, cited the judgment of a division bench of the high court by which the plea of IPG was dismissed and said that the pilots can be tried for civil contempt under the Civil Procedure Code, that entails a punishment of three months jail term.

Taking note of the plea, Justice Khetrapal, however, said, "In the meanwhile, I still feel that better sense will prevail on the pilots.

"Nobody is concerned with the plight of the passengers as somebody might have to see a person on a death bed... Some must have missed an important meeting or an important interview."

The counsel for Air India also told the court that "the IPG have held a press conference to categorically state that the pilots are still on strike. It manifests that they are still in defiance of the judicial order."

Earlier in the day, Air India management had filed a contempt petition in the high court against the striking pilots on the ground that they have failed to comply with the court's earlier order restraining them from undertaking the stir.

In its petition, the Air India management said despite the court's restraint order, several opportunities were given to the striking pilots to resolve their issues but they failed to settle the matter.

On May 9, the high court had restrained over 200 agitating pilots from continuing their "illegal strike", reporting sick and staging demonstrations, a day after the airline management sacked 10 pilots and derecognised their union.

The court had also said allowing such a strike to continue would cause irreparable loss to the company as well as huge inconvenience to the passengers travelling by the national carrier.

The IPG had challenged the May 9 ex-parte order of the single judge holding the strike as illegal, saying it was done without any authority.

A division bench of the court had, subsequently, dismissed their plea, saying the pilots could not "wilfully and flagrantly" disobey court orders to end their "illegal" strike and could face contempt action.

The bench had, however, granted liberty to IPG to move before the single judge for modification of its previous order while turning down its plea that the high court had no jurisdiction to pass an ex-parte order as the union's office as well as Air India's headquarters were in Mumbai.

The pilots, under the IPG banner, are agitating over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training and matters relating to their career progression.

The IPG is protesting AI's decision to train pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a union of pilots of erstwhile domestic carrier Indian Airlines, for Dreamliner Boeing aircraft.

Earlier, the AI management had filed an injunction suit terming the strike as illegal and had said due to the pilots' stir, the company was compelled to cancel some of its international flights which had resulted in extreme hardship and also inconvenience to the passengers.

Moreover, as a result of the cancellation of flights, Air India is facing financial loss of over Rs 10 crore per day, it had said.