IN a judgment that brings into question the whole process of disinvestment, something dear to this government, the Delhi High Court refused to entertain a petition by the Indian Airlines Officers Association (IAOA) seeking pay and allowance arrears from Air India, with which it merged in 2007. The Court said Air India had ceased to be a government-controlled company and therefore, the plea was untenable. IAOA had sought arrears of pay and allowances from January 1, 1997, to July 31, 2006, to the tune of Rs 118 crore, though the total arrears which include two other associations is Rs 208 crore.
Justice Jyoti Singh said: "It is an admitted position that during the pendency of the present writ petition, on 27.01.2022, 100 percent shareholding of Air India has been acquired by M/s. Talace Pvt. Ltd. and Air India have ceased to be Government controlled companies, and are no longer amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court.... The writ petition cannot be entertained."
Further, the counsel for Air India said it had been privatised and the entire shareholding of the Government of India had been transferred to a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd and, therefore, the petition cannot lie under Article 226 of the Constitution as Air India was no longer a public body.
This judgment raises serious questions about the entire disinvestment process of the government and the liabilities of a public sector company which has been bought by a private entity. Do the dues die a natural death or is the private entity liable to shoulder them?
The disinvestment of Air India left a certain group of employees from the erstwhile Indian Airlines in the lurch. The Court judgment has disheartened them further. The disinvestment deal of AI was completed in January 2022 after a long drawn out, two-year process, following which it was bought over by the Tatas.
Denne historien er fra January 23, 2023-utgaven av India Legal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 23, 2023-utgaven av India Legal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters
IS THAT LEGAL?
Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis
The Big Lie
In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.
Flying into the Sunset
Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.
Star Crossed
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.
Walkouts in the UK
An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.
Myanmar's Misery
Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.
AMERICA'S ANGST
From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection
JUSTICE LEAGUE
There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences
