- Bombay HC quashed 2011 DGCA order suspending pilot Jeetendra Varma's ATPL licence
- DGCA violated natural justice by not issuing show-cause notice or granting hearing
- Varma was accused of using a forged marksheet for his Airline Transport Pilot Licence
It has been a long wait for former Air India pilot Jeetendra Krishna Varma. After 15 years, it was this Monday that the Bombay High Court quashed a 2011 Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) order suspending the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) of Varma, holding that the regulator violated principles of natural justice by acting without issuing a show-cause notice or granting him a hearing.
"We feel that definitely prejudice has been caused to the petitioner as he could not point out his side of the story and therefore, we deem it fit to set aside the order and remit the matter back to the respondent to give an opportunity to the petitioner, which will be in consonance with principles of natural justice," the Bombay High Court order noted.
The matter stemmed from a 2011 probe into allegations that several pilots had secured licences using forged examination documents. Varma's ATPL was suspended by the DGCA on March 12, 2011, after allegations surfaced that he had obtained the licence on the basis of a forged marksheet for an ATPL examination. He was also arrested but released on bail after a week on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Delhi Police Crime Branch into the matter.
Varma challenged the suspension before the Bombay High Court, arguing that he had flown for Air India for over two decades, accumulated nearly 7,000 flying hours, and had cleared competency and renewal checks conducted by DGCA-approved examiners.
The DGCA argued that Varma had allegedly submitted a forged marksheet showing that he had passed the Air Navigation Composite paper in April 2010. The regulator argued that the licence had therefore been obtained through suppression of material facts and wrong information.
However, the division bench of Justices Shreeram V Shirsat and Manish Pitale found that the DGCA had failed to follow the mandatory procedure under Rule 39A of the Aircraft Rules, which requires an opportunity of hearing before a person can be disqualified from holding a licence.
It further observed that the DGCA had not produced the allegedly forged marksheet before the court and had failed to establish its allegations through supporting material. Rejecting the DGCA's argument that it could suspend the licence in the public interest during an investigation, the court held that the relevant provisions relied upon by the regulator were not applicable in the facts of the case.
The court also noted that although a criminal complaint was filed in 2011 and a chargesheet was submitted, charges have not been framed even after 15 years. Holding that the pilot had suffered prejudice because he was denied an opportunity to present his defence, the court set aside the suspension order and restored his ATPL licence.
At the same time, the bench granted liberty to the DGCA to initiate a fresh inquiry in accordance with Rule 39A, after providing Varma a hearing and following due process. The court directed that any such inquiry be completed within two months.
