IHC declares CAA order of revoking pilot’s licence as null and void

ISLAMABAD-The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday declared the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) order of revoking the license of a pilot as null and void.

A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah conducted hearing of a petition seeking restoration of a pilot accused of holding dubious license to his job.

The IHC bench also annulled the order about board of inquiry that was constituted to conduct inquiry into the licenses of pilots in Pakistan.

Justice Athar issued these orders while hearing the petition filed against cancellation of the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) of pilot Syed Saqlain Akhtar who was represented by his counsel Zeeshaan Zafar Hashmi Advocate.

The court also directed the authorities to ascertain the blame that who is responsible for preparing the list of 262 pilots, which was given to the Federal Minister for Aviation.

In his petition, the petitioner assailed the order, dated 14.07.2020, whereby his Airline Transport Pilot License was revoked. His counsel further contended that the petitioner was never confronted with any material relating to the alleged use of unfair means to clear ATPL theoretical knowledge examinations.

The counsel referred to para 3 of the impugned order relating to revoking Akhtar’s license which was supposed to be dealt with by the Director General (DG) of CAA but as there was no permanent DG of CAA, the matter had to be disposed of by the secretary of Aviation Division.

The lawyer argued that the posts of secretary of the Aviation Division and CAA’s director general had been held by the same person and, therefore, the impugned order, dated July 14, was not sustainable.

He said that the order had been passed in haste and that too in violation of the principles of procedural fairness. Akhtar challenged the revocation of his license and dismissal from job and maintained that the PIA had fired him on July 21 without listening to his stance.

He further said that the CAA had not followed the rules and regulations while revoking his license and therefore, he requested to the court to restore his license.

Source: The Nation