Supreme Court Grants Relief to BJP MPs Dubey and Tiwari in Aviation Case

The Supreme Court has provided interim relief to BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari by halting prosecution related to a 2022 FIR involving the alleged coercion of Deoghar ATC for an after-hours takeoff. The court cites DGCA's jurisdiction under the Aircraft Act for further investigation.

The Supreme Court has extended interim relief to BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari, suspending prosecution in connection with an FIR lodged by the Jharkhand police. The FIR accused the MPs of allegedly pressuring Deoghar air traffic control to permit their aircraft to take off past the sunset deadline in 2022.

While a bench of Justices A S Oka and Manmohan granted liberty to the state government to forward collected evidence to an authorized officer under the Aircraft Act, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been entrusted with making a legal determination on filing a complaint. This decision comes following the state's appeal against a Jharkhand High Court ruling that quashed the FIR.

Questions were raised regarding the jurisdiction of the Jharkhand CID in this case, as aviation offences fall under DGCA's purview. The case originated from the FIR accusing Dubey and Tiwari of coercion and endangering safety protocols after their chartered flight took off after the permitted time on August 31, 2022, raising allegations of political vendetta.

(With inputs from agencies.)