A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy questioning the legality of providing enhanced seat allocation to Etihad airlines via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Abu Dhabi in April 2013, is coming up before the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra.
What was the Jet-Etihad deal?
In the last hearing on this case, on October 27, 2017, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of the BJP leader that a Parliamentary committee shared his view on the bilateral agreement between India and the UAE on increasing the number of flights.
Earlier, the court had asked Swamy to file an amended plea, seeking to quash the Jet-Etihad alliance, by also challenging the bilateral air services agreement between India and the UAE.
Previous hearing on March 15, 2016
When a bench consisting of Justice Thakur and Justice U U Lalit had heard this PIL in March 2016, they had suggested that Swamy implead other private airlines such as Indigo, Spice Jet etc. as it felt that revocation of seat arrangements with Etihad might benefit them[1]. In his petition, Swamy alleged that the concessions given to Etihad Airlines were a way of compensating the Emir of Abu Dhabi for the losses suffered by Etisalat on account of cancellation of 2G licenses by the apex court. He told the court that Emir of Abu Dhabi was also the head of Etisalat.
At this, the court said that he could say this (alleged concession to Etihad) “was for a collateral purpose and not in public interest”.
Swamy had in 2013 challenged the Jet-Etihad deal and its approval by the government permitting UAE’s national carrier to acquire 24 percent stakes in Jet Airways.
Alleging that there was lack of transparency in the deal, the PIL by Swamy had said that it would result in “a grant of largesse of national asset in favour of a foreign airline (Etihad Airways) resulting in undue enrichment and enormous pecuniary advantage to such foreign airline at the cost and expense of the public, national and domestic airlines as well as airports”.
The PIL had assailed the government for entering into agreement with UAE permitting Etihad Airways to carry 36,670 more passengers over and above permitted 13,330 passengers per week, describing the increase in capacity entitlement as “unprecedented, arbitrary, irrational and unsustainable”.
References:
[1] Jet-Etihad deal: Court asks Swamy to add private airlines in his PIL – Mar 15, 2016, PGurus.com
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Dr Swami’s allegations of favouritism to Etihad as a quid pro quo for so-called loss in 2G deal has force and the present NDA govt. should have stepped in and cancelled the arrangement, if found to be true on a detailed probe. But why is the present govt. silent on this issue? is it they are no longer interested in rooting out corruption as promised ?
Dr Swamy can be made as sort of ombudsman for safeguarding the wealth of nation
Dr Swami need not be made minister. But sort of ombudsman to safeguard national wealth
It is disgusting to note that Indians themselves are selling off its assets to foreigners !! Indian national interests are to be protected at all costs. Why does it requires only ONE Swamy to file all such petitions … govt is in bed with foreigners ??
Why was no action taken by NDA Govt. into investigate into the wrong dealings in the Aviation Sector and purchase of huge amount of Aircraft with no sectors to operate leaing everything to one man Army
Dr Subramaniam Swamy to file PIL after PIL to unravel the wrong doings.
i
HOW ONE MAN DR SWAMY CAN THINK OF NATIONAL INTEREST AND MANY WORKING FOR GOVT IN CONGRESS HAVE NO IDEA HOW COUTRY IS GETTING LOOTED