The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice on two writ petitions by the National Aviators Guild, Mumbai, against Jet Airways.
One petition sought a direction to the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel the permission granted to the airline for engaging foreign pilots, which, it said, terminated the services of experienced and senior Indian pilots, an unfair labour practice, for forming the petitioner-union.
The other petition prayed for a direction to the Centre, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA to ensure flight-wise and day-to-day monitoring of Jet operations to ensure passenger safety.
The writ petitions have been posted for September 16.
When the question of their maintainability arose, counsel V. Prakash said one writ petition sought a direction mainly for cancelling the permission issued to the airline. He was not pressing a portion of the prayer relating to the termination of Jet staff, as such a relief could not be entertained in a PIL petition. As for the foreign pilots issue, he could approach the court for relief in the larger interest of aviation.
In the second petition, Mr. Prakash said he was only seeking a direction to the Ministry to monitor the operations of the airline. It was not a service matter. The petitioner-union had members in Chennai.
A Bench held that both petitions were maintainable. As the subject matter should be adjudicated early, it said it proposed to issue notice to the respondents even at this stage.
