After converting a petition filed by the pilots’ union into a public interest litigation (PIL), a division bench comprising Justices Vikramajit Sen and Siddharth Mridul of the Delhi high court on Monday decided to look into the problems faced by Air India which led to a strike by its pilots recently saying it is a matter of public interest which the nation wants to know.
The court referred the matter to the bench headed by Chief Justice of the Delhi HC Dipak Misra which hears all the PIL matters.
“The nation wants to know what factors are afflicting the national carrier Air India. In order to set those controversies at rest, we are prime facie of the opinion that all the circumstances leading up to the strike should be considered and decided by treating the case as a public interest litigation,” the bench said.
Appearing before the bench, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) sought withdrawal of its appeal against the single judge’s April 27 order to call off the strike saying the general public is the worst sufferer, citing that the pilots have joined back their duties.