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Synopsis

Akasa Air, an airline founded by the late Indian billionaire business magnate Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has filed a suit before the the Bombay High Court, seeking compensation of Rs. 21 crore from each of the pilots who have resigned from the company.

The suit was heard by a single-judge bench of Justice SM Modak at the Bombay High Court today.

Akasa Air approached the Bombay High Court in response to the resignation of five of their pilots, who left the company without adhering to the mandatory six-month notice period. The company is seeking Rs. 21 crore in damages from each of the pilots and an additional 18 lakhs for breach of contract.

Furthermore, the company has sought an injunction against the pilots regarding their resignation letters and is seeking to compel them to fulfil their notice period obligations. According to the suit, the airline company and the pilots had entered into an employment and training agreement, which stipulated that the pilots must work for the company for two years.

In the event of a breach of contract, they would be required to pay Rs. 18 lakhs. The agreement also mandated a six-month notice period for pilots resigning from their positions.

During today's hearing, Senior Advocate Darius Kambata, representing the pilots, challenged the maintainability of the suit in the Bombay High Court.

Senior Advocate Janak Dwarkadas, appearing for the airline company, argued that since the resignation was tendered in Mumbai, the agreement was executed in Mumbai, and the breach of contract occurred in Mumbai, the Bombay High Court had jurisdiction to decide the matter as the cause of action was based in Mumbai.

Dwarkadas also informed the bench that the pilots had provided four undated cheques to the company at the time of signing the agreement in Mumbai as a security measure in case of breach.

Senior Advocate Darius Kambata, representing the pilots, argued that one cannot selectively choose which court has jurisdiction. He pointed out that hard copies of the agreement were sent to Delhi, where the pilots signed them and returned them to Mumbai.

Kambata further added that the resignations were sent by pilots located outside Mumbai and argued that the airline had approached the Bombay High Court primarily because of the lower court fees cap of 3 lakhs, as compared to the Delhi High Court, in order to save money.

The high court will continue hearing the pilot’s submission on Monday.

Case title: SNV Aviation vs Captain Gareema Kumar & ors