Akasa Air Pilots Challenge Maintainability Of Lawsuits Filed By Airline

Some of the ex-employees of Akasa Air have challenged the maintainability of lawsuits filed against them before the Bombay High Court, for breaching notice requirements under their employment contracts.

Since the contracts were executed in Delhi, the suits should ideally lie before the Delhi High Court, according to them. However, according to Akasa, since the employment contract has a clause that exclusively grants jurisdiction to the Bombay High Court, the argument is not tenable.

As per Indian law, only a court whose jurisdiction under which the contract was executed has the power to deal with any disputes arising out of it. However, this can be changed as per the terms of the contract. Parties are free to mutually agree to refer the dispute to a particular court, under the contract.

On Saturday, an Aakasa Air spokesperson said that the airline is taking action against a small group of pilots who left the company without serving any notice period. This had led to the cancellation of several flights, putting the airline at a financial loss.

"We have sought legal remedy only against a small set of pilots, who abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period," an Akasa Air spokesperson said in a statement.