NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday said no writ petition can be filed against Air India as it has ceased to be a public body after Tata group owned Talace India purchased 100% equity in the airline in Jan 2022.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta gave this ruling while answering a question whether writ petitions by erstwhile employees of Air India, which were maintainable being filed years before its privatisation, could still be continued against the airlines even after its privatisation.
Upholding a Bombay HC decision, the bench said, “There is no dispute that (after) govt of India having transferred its 100% share to Talace India Pvt Ltd, (it) ceased to have any administrative control or deep pervasive control over the private entity (Air India) and hence, the company after its disinvestment could not have been treated to be a State anymore after having taken over by the private company.”
“Thus, unquestionably, Air India after its disinvestment ceased to be a State or its instrumentality within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. Once Air India ceased to be covered by the definition of State within the meaning of Article 12, it could not have been subjected to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution,” the bench said.
It further said on the matter, “Air India, erstwhile govt-run airline having been taken over by private company Talace India, unquestionably, is not performing any public duty inasmuch as it has taken over govt company Air India Limited for … commercial operations, plain and simple, and thus no writ petition is maintainable against Air India.”
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta gave this ruling while answering a question whether writ petitions by erstwhile employees of Air India, which were maintainable being filed years before its privatisation, could still be continued against the airlines even after its privatisation.
Upholding a Bombay HC decision, the bench said, “There is no dispute that (after) govt of India having transferred its 100% share to Talace India Pvt Ltd, (it) ceased to have any administrative control or deep pervasive control over the private entity (Air India) and hence, the company after its disinvestment could not have been treated to be a State anymore after having taken over by the private company.”
“Thus, unquestionably, Air India after its disinvestment ceased to be a State or its instrumentality within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. Once Air India ceased to be covered by the definition of State within the meaning of Article 12, it could not have been subjected to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution,” the bench said.
It further said on the matter, “Air India, erstwhile govt-run airline having been taken over by private company Talace India, unquestionably, is not performing any public duty inasmuch as it has taken over govt company Air India Limited for … commercial operations, plain and simple, and thus no writ petition is maintainable against Air India.”