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Bombay High Court order in pilots’ duty time case stayed

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an interim order passed by the Bombay High Court restraining the Director-General of Civil Aviation from bringing into effect a flight duty time limitation for pilots.

A three-Judge Bench of the Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal stayed the impugned order dated July 1 on a special leave petition filed by the DGCA, National Aviation Company of India and others.

Under a circular issued in 1992, pilots were to make three flights in a 9-hour shift. In the wake of the increase in air traffic, the pilots had come under tremendous pressure. Representations were made to the DGCA for reducing the working hours.

In July 2007, a revised circular stated that pilots would take out only two flights in a 9-hour shift. But this circular was kept in abeyance, allegedly at the instance of the Union Minister.On July 2, the DGCA clarified that the 1992 circular would operate, but the High Court stayed it. The present SLP is directed against this order.

Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati submitted that as a result of the interim order pilots would fly fewer hours. For the airlines, it would mean 35 per cent increase in the number of pilots required.

He said the High Court had made certain observations against the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, though there was no complaint.

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