The Delhi high court has sought Air India’s response to a plea for certain documents for proving the innocence of the man accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger in an inebriated state on a New York- Delhi flight.
Shankar Mishra, who lost his job after the urination was reported, was arrested from Bengaluru in January two months after the incident . He was granted bail on January 31. Air India also banned Mishra from flying for four months.
A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad on Tuesday issued notice on Mishra’s plea and posted the matter for hearing on January 19. Mishra moved the court against the ministry of civil aviation appellate committee’s September 15 order declining his request for the documents. The committee was formed to hear his appeal against the ban.
Mishra pleaded the documents implied that Air India was aware of his innocence much before filing a show cause notice against him under the Civil Aviation Rules.
The appellate committee directed Air India to only provide him with a copy of the emails of cabin crew members and those exchanged between the woman and her son-in-law with the airline.
{{/usCountry}}The appellate committee directed Air India to only provide him with a copy of the emails of cabin crew members and those exchanged between the woman and her son-in-law with the airline.
{{/usCountry}}In his plea before the high court, Mishra said Air India’s inaction in providing documents amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights. He added the committee failed to appreciate that the inquiry was vitiated in the absence of the documents.