Air India Urination Row: Pilot Grounded For 3 Months, Airline Fined Rs 30 Lakh For Violation Of Rules

Air India Urination Row: DGCA has suspended the license of the pilot and has fined the airline Rs 30 lakh for violating rules.

DGCA grounds pilot, fines Air India Rs 30 lak h in connection with the passenger urinating case

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Air India Case: Aviation watchdog DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for violation of rules and has suspended the license of the Pilot-In-Command of the flight for 3 months for failing to discharge his duties in connection with the case of a man urinating on a woman passenger.

The DGCA also fined the airline's Director-in-flight services Rs 3 lakh, reported ANI.

Air India (AI) passenger urinating case of Nov 26 |
DGCA imposes a fine of Rs 30 lakhs on Air India for violation of rules, suspends the license of Pilot-In-Command of the flight for 3 months for failing to discharge his duties&Rs 3 lakhs fine on AI's Director-in-flight services

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2023

The accused, Shankar Mishra, allegedly peed on a woman passenger on a New York-Delhi Air India flight on November 26, last year. The case garnered massive media coverage after it came to light following which, a case was filed.

Air India has imposed a four-month flying ban of four months on Mishra, who is in jail now. Earlier, the airline had barred him from flying for 30 days.

In its statement on Friday, DGCA said enforcement actions have been taken in the incident which came to the notice of the regulator only on January 4, reported PTI.

The watchdog earlier issued show cause notices to Air India's Accountable Manager, Director-in-flight services, all the pilots and cabin crew members of that flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.

A "financial penalty of Rs 30,00,000 has been imposed on Air India for violation of applicable DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR)," the regulator said, the PTI report added.

Further, the watchdog said the license of the pilot-in-command of the said flight has been suspended for three months for failing to discharge his duties as per Rule 141 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and applicable DGCA CAR.

"A financial penalty of Rs 3 lakh has also been imposed on Director-in-flight services of M/s Air India for failing to discharge her duties as per applicable DGCA CAR," it added.

Shankar Mishra Rejected Charges

Earlier, during the hearing of the case, the accused rejected the charges and told a Delhi court that the complaint woman urinated on herself due to incontinence, according to news agency ANI.

"The seat of the complainant woman was blocked. He (Mishra) was unable to travel there. The woman suffers from incontinence. She peed on herself. "She is a Kathak dancer, and 80% of Kathak dancers have this problem," Mishra's lawyer quoted by ANI.

Earlier, a Delhi court refused bail to Shankar Mishra calling the act "utterly disgusting and repulsive". Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg noted that the crime disturbed people's civic consciousness and needs to be condemned. The claimed act, in and of itself, prima facie demonstrates the accused's purpose, she added, while refusing Mishra's bail.

What Shankar Mishra Told Court

Accused Shankar Mishra told Delhi's Patiala House Court on one such hearing that his 'unzipping' action was not motivated by sexual desire. "I couldn't control my drink, but the unzipping was not for sexual desire. "The complainant's case does not portray him as a lustful man," Shankar's lawyer stated in court.

Tata's Response To Incident

In response to the incident, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier released a statement. "Air India's response should have been much swifter. We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been," Chandrasekaran said in a statement.