Photo courtesy: Ashish Bhatnagar/Wikimedia

Over 50 employees of the Delhi Flying Club and their families, who were evicted from their homes at Safdarjung Airport and their residences sealed on April 18, have urgently appealed to the Delhi High Court to order the Airports Authority of India to unseal their homes.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar is hearing the matter. The club has 85 students, 85 staff and around 1,077 members. The staff will have to be relocated and all their dues cleared.

The original petition seeking a writ of mandamus to ask the government to constitute the Airports Appellate Tribunal was filed in 2015. The present petition also seeks a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the Airports Authority of India not to evict the workers as it decided in January 2017. A hearing took place on April 18 after which the matter was adjourned to April 23. In the evening, the eviction took place. The evicted are being barred from collecting their belongings. They include children whose examinations are ongoing.

Earlier in 2016, the high court had dismissed a plea of the Delhi Flying Club challenging its eviction from Safdarjung airport, saying that in any case, the place is known more as a wedding venue than for aeronautical activities and that only simulation training is being provided at the Club which does not merit occupation of the space and property. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw’s decision came on the pleas of Aero Club of India Pvt Ltd and the Club challenging the Airport Authority of India’s eviction order, directives regarding licence fee and show-cause notices issued to the club for non-payment of licence fee dues of over Rs 8.3 crore.

—By India Legal Bureau