Delhi HC asks ICPA office-bearers to appear before it in July

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Ignoring their apologies for not
withdrawing the strike despite court order, the Delhi High
Court Wednesday asked all the office bearers of striking Air
India pilots' body to be present before it on next date of
hearing in July to face contempt proceedings.
A division bench of justices B D Ahmed and Veena Birbal
asked nine office bearers of Indian Commercial Pilots
Association (ICPA) to be present in the court on July 29.
The striking pilots tendered their apologies in their
replies to the court, filed through senior advocate K T S
Tulsi, saying "it was not deliberate disobedience of the court
directions."
The leaders of the striking pilots submitted to the court
that the general body meeting decided against the withdrawing
the strike in the prevailing circumstances of bitterness
between the management and the pilots.
Earlier, the court had rapped the airline management and
the pilots' association for their rigid attitude and appointed
a counsel to assist it in resolving the stand off arising out
of the pilots' agitation demanding more pay.
"It seems that you are also not interested in getting
the strike called off," the bench had said.
The court had issued contempt notices to nine of the
striking Air India pilots for defying its order to call off
the agitation.