By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Wednesday stayed the ongoing strike by Air India employees till July 13.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Air India’s management the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), which demanded that the strike be declared illegal, void and ineffective.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher stayed the strike at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Safdarjung airport and at all the branches and head offices of Air India till July 13, the next date of hearing.
Appearing for NACIL, senior advocate Lalit bhasin said: “Since the conciliation proceedings are going on, so the strike should be declared as illegal and void.”
NACIL, in its petition, demanded that those on strike should be restrained from holding demonstrations and disrupting air services.
Bhasin also submitted that more than 50 percent of the business has been affected due to the strike.
Around 15,000 crew members and maintenance engineers of the airline are on a nationwide strike since Tuesday, protesting a gag order issued on the members for talking to the media after Saturday’s air crash in Mangalore and delay in payment of salaries.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that the strike by the airline staff was illegal, even as thousands of travellers across the country were livid after as many as 140 flights of the state-run carrier were cancelled or diverted.