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The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Jharkhand government's plea challenging a High Court order that quashed an FIR against BJP MPs 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 Dipankar Datta and Manmohan declined the Jharkhand government's appeal to revive the case. The apex court said there were no grounds to revive the case under the Indian Penal Code's Sections 441 (criminal trespass) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others). It, however, directed the Jharkhand government to forward the relevant material to an authorised officer under the Aircraft Act within four weeks to examine if a case is justified in the matter under this law. Dubey, Tiwari, and others were accused of pressuring the ATC to allow their take off. The Jharkhand government had contended that the ATC area is a protected zone. The Jharkhand government had challenged the High Court's decision to quash the FIR against Dubey and Tiwari concerning the ATS clearance issue at Deoghar airport. The FIR was registered in the first week of September 2023. Following instructions from the Deoghar deputy commissioner, the Jharkhand police filed an FIR against pilot of the chartered plane, Dubey, his two sons, Manoj Tiwari, Mukesh Pathak, Devta Pandey, Pintu Tiwary, and Sandeep Dhingra, the airport director, for allegedly pressuring officials at the airport to clear their chartered flight for take-off on the night of August 31. According to the complaint, "Nine people -- Nishikant Dubey, Kanishk Kant Dubey, Mahikant Dubey, Manoj Tiwari, Kapil Mishra, Sheshadri Dubey, Sunil Tiwari, and others -- arrived in Deoghar by a chartered plane at 1 pm on August 31. During their return in the evening, some of them, including Dubey, forcibly entered the ATC room." The complaint further stated that at approximately 17:25 hrs, passengers arrived at the airport to board the chartered flight. They were accompanied by others who had come to see them off. The security in-charge noted that Deoghar airport lacks an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) facility, meaning night take-offs and landings are not permitted. On August 31, the local sunset time was 18:03 hrs, with air services operational only until 17:30 hrs. In September 2023, Dubey denied any rule violations, asserting that all protocols were followed. The BJP MP stated that the trip was to seek justice for a girl who had been set ablaze by a stalker. (ANI)
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