Mumbai (PTI): Full-service carrier Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express have said they will together operate a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on Wednesday.

Amid the escalating conflict in the region involving the US, Israel and Iran, airlines are operating services in a calibrated manner as there are airspace restrictions and closures.

The two carriers will continue to operate their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat on March 11, Air India said in a statement on Tuesday.

While Air India will operate eight flights to and from Jeddah, Air India Express will be operating 14 scheduled flights to and from Muscat, it stated.

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Air India will operate one round-trip each from Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah, and Air India Express will operate a round-trip each from Hyderabad and Kozhikode to Jeddah on Wednesday.

Air India Express will also operate its scheduled services to Muscat, including a round-trip each from Delhi, Mumbai, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli, and two round-trips from Kochi, the airline said.

In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express would also operate a total of 36 ad-hoc non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE, subject to the availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the respective point of departure at the time, it said.

These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities, it added.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to

24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".

“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.

“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.

This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.

The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.

The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.

According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.

The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".

The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.

The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.

"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.

"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.

The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.