Court orders FIR against Air India pilot Arvind Kathpalia, Joint DGCA

A court here has directed the Delhi police to lodge an FIR against an Air India pilot for alleged violation of Aircraft Rules, tampering with evidence and intimidating a doctor working with the airlines in January, 2017.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur also directed that Lalit Gupta, Joint Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), be named as an accused in the FIR for allegedly covering up the actions of the pilot, Captain Arvind Kathpalia.

The court took on record an action taken report (ATR) filed by Delhi police and said 'prima facie' cognizable offences were made out which required detailed examination and collection of evidence.

"... prima facie cognisable offences are made out which required detailed examination and collection of evidence. Hence, SHO, PS, IGI Airport is directed to register an FIR and investigate the present case," the court said.

According to the complaint filed by Indian Pilots Association, on January 19, 2017, Kathpalia was scheduled to operate a flight from New Delhi to Bengaluru and he proceeded to operate the flight without undergoing the mandatory Pre-Flight Breath and Analyser Test.

Further, even at Bengaluru he refused to undergo a similar test.

Later, on his arrival in New Delhi, he allegedly went to Pre-Flight Medical Examination Room and made a false entry in the Pre-Flight Breath Analyzer Examination Register for the flight he had operated.

Kathpalia also issued threats and intimidated Dr Nitin Seth, DDCA's doctor on duty, with a view to coerce him to retract his statement given in inquiry conducted by the DGCA, where he had alleged thatthe Captain had manipulated the record in the register.

It was also alleged that there was violation of Aircraft Rules apart from tampering of evidence, coercive intimidation.