~By Kunal Rao

Students eyeing to pursue a career in aviation will now have more institutes training them to become pilots as the Delhi High Court has struck down a provision in the Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) laid down by the DGCA which was creating a monopoly of the chief flight officers (CFOs) without whose permission flying training cannot be imparted.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher said that the provision inserted in CAR is “inconsistent” and “ultra vires” with the Aircraft Rules 1937 and will have to be struck down. It also said that the Director General (DG) of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) does not have the power to issue direction to the effect of amending the rules framed by the Centre.

“In my opinion, the Director General did not have the power to issue a direction of the nature which has the effect of amending a rule framed by the Central Government. The impugned provision which has been inserted in the CAR is undoubtedly inconsistent with the subject rule,” Justice Shakdher said.

“The impugned provision is clearly ultra vires to the subject rule incorporated in the Aircraft Rules. The impugned provision at best is an executive instruction which cannot overturn a statutory rule framed by the Govt. of India,” the judge said.

The court’s direction came while deciding a petition filed by the Managing Director of a flying training institute (FTO) who had contended that due to the existing provision, the Assistant Pilot Instructor (APIs)/ Pilot Instructors (PIs) will have to obtain approval from the Chief Instructor (CI) or Chief Flight Instructor (CFI) of the concerned FTO and training can be imparted only after their authorization.

He had also alleged that the training institutes have to face problems due to the shortage in number of the CIs and the CFOs following which the training of the students is suspended. The petition had alleged that the denial of the privileges to the Flight Instructor (FIs) to supervise and authorise solo flights by student pilots and also the flying instructions imparted by Assistant Flight Instructors (AFI) is in violation of the Chicago Convention signed by 52 countries, including India.

Reacting to the development, a DGCA official said that the rule had created monopoly and it also lead to increase in salary of CFOs.

“Some institutes had to shut as CFOs were not available. There were also complaints of harassment. Now the court has asked, we will soon issue a notification in this regard,” said a DGCA official.

While striking down this provision, the court said the Centre should have informed the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) before making any changes in the rules in accordance to the Chicago Convention, which it has not done.

The court also noted that the privilege to the FIs and the AFI’s “stands incorporated in a statutory rules framed by the Centre” which is again based on the Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) appended to the Chicago Convention of 1947.