Jan 21, 2025 12:40 PM IST
BJP members of Parliament Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari were accused of forcing Deogarh’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approve take-off of their chartered flight in August 2022
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Jharkhand high court order quashing a criminal case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of Parliament Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari for allegedly forcing Deogarh’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approve take-off of their chartered flight in August 2022.
A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan dismissed the Jharkhand government’s appeal to revive the case, saying there were no grounds to do that under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 441 (criminal trespass) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others). The Supreme Court directed the state to forward the relevant material to an authorised officer under the Aircraft Act to examine if a case is justified in the matter under this law.
Dubey, Tiwari, and seven others were accused of pressuring the ATC to allow their take off. The high court quashed the case in March 2023 against them saying it was maintainable under the Aircraft Act’s Section 12B. It said a court can take cognisance under the Act only when a complaint is filed with the Director General of Civil Aviation’s written sanction.
Dubey and Tiwari argued that the Act provides for specialised authorities to investigate offences. They challenged the invoking of IPC provisions when a specialised law covered the case.
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