The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed the writ petitions filed by Air India employees regarding salary and promotion dues [RS Madireddy and anr vs Union of India and ors].
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta stated that writ petitions were no longer maintainable because Air India ceased to be a government entity following its privatization. The Court upheld the view taken by the Bombay High Court in 2022 regarding this matter.
“We do not find any reason to deviate from the view taken by the Bombay High Court. Appeals are dismissed, no order as to costs,” the Court remarked.
The verdict was in response to an appeal against a September 2022 Bombay High Court order, which similarly held that writ petitions against Air India after privatization were not maintainable.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Central government and Air India Limited in January last year.
The issue before the courts concerned whether events like privatization fundamentally impacting the court’s jurisdiction rendered the petitions non-maintainable.
The Bombay High Court, while addressing the matter, clarified that the time during which the case was pending would not count towards the limitation period if the petitioners sought alternative remedies in accordance with the law.
The employees subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, with Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the respondents and Senior Advocate Sanjay Singhvi, briefed by advocate Sandeep Deshmukh, appearing for the appellants.
