Justice Suresh Kait, who did not pass any interim order on the plea of Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), the union of erstwhile Indian Airlines, asked it to file an additional affidavit with detailed information on changes made by Air India in the FDTL in pursuance of Singh's order.
The court would now hear the matter on October 5.
The ICPA, in its plea, has sought setting aside the minister's order asking the national carrier to "immediately implement" the guidelines of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which asked pilots and cabin crew to put in more flying hours.
"The minister says he has done the analysis that pilots are flying less and they should fly more. This is a diktat of a new minister in the field which is covered by the statute... there is no scope of any diktat here," said senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for ICPA.
"Time and again, the FDTL issue has been settled between the airlines and pilots under the purview of the Industrial Disputes Act and the diktat of the minister is against the law," said Rohatgi, adding "the pilots are not taxi drivers who can be asked to go to Gurgaon from Delhi after a long drive just to optimise the use of the workforce."
At the end of the hearing, Justice Kait, who was not satisfied on ICPA' response on changes made in FDTL, asked it to file a detailed affidavit on the issue. (More)
