High Court quashes Air India's decision terminating pilots, orders reinstatement
New Delhi: Coming to the aid of all Air India pilots, permanent as well as on contract, whose services were terminated last year, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed the national carrier's decision and directed their reinstatement.
The direction was issued by Justice Jyoti Singh who also ordered that back wages would have to be paid to the reinstated pilots.
The court said that the back wages, including allowances, have to be paid at par with what in-service pilots were receiving and in accordance with the government rules.
The court also said that extension for the contractual pilots would be at the discretion of Air India in view of their satisfactory performance.
The court said the detailed judgement would be available only on Wednesday.
The order was passed in over 40 petitions by pilots whose services were terminated by Air India on August 13 last year.
The terminated pilots, a large chunk of whom were represented by advocates Ravi Raghunath and Nilansh Gaur, had initially moved the court in July last year seeking directions to Air India to accept the withdrawal of the resignations tendered by them.
However, on August 13, 2020, Air India issued termination letters to several pilots including those who had wanted to withdraw their resignations.
Subsequently, the pilots moved the high court against the August 13, 2020, decision of Air India.
Some of pilots had initially tendered their resignations over delay by Air India in disbursing pay and allowances.
They had also contended that neither were their notice periods reduced nor any no-objection certificate issued to them after receipt of resignation.
They had further contended that the resignations were subsequently withdrawn, but the withdrawal was not accepted by Air India.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
