Bombay High Court restores pilot’s licence revoked 15 years ago, says DGCA’s suspension order ‘illegal’

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

The Bench also noted that though the FIR was lodged in 2011 and a chargesheet was also filed, no charge has been framed against Jeetendra Krishna Varma to date. File. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

In a relief to a 61-year-old pilot, the Bombay High Court has quashed a 2011 DGCA order suspending his licence, noting the order was “illegal and unsustainable” as it violated the principles of natural justice by not granting him a hearing.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on March 12, 2011, suspended Jeetendra Krishna Varma’s Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), considered the highest level of pilot licence, after an FIR was lodged against him in Delhi for allegedly procuring the licence based on forged documents.

Varma, then aged 46, moved the High Court, challenging the DGCA’s order suspending his licence under provisions of the Aircraft Rules.

A Bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram Shirsat, in the judgment passed on Monday (June 8, 2026), said the DGCA’s licensing authority neither issued a show-cause notice to Varma nor granted him a hearing in person before taking the decision to suspend his licence.

“We feel that definitely prejudice has been caused to the petitioner (Varma) as he could not point out his side of the story and therefore, we deem it fit to set aside the order (suspension of licence) and remit the matter back to the respondent (DGCA) to give an opportunity to the petitioner, which will be in consonance with the principles of natural justice,” High Court said.

The Bench also noted that though the FIR was lodged in 2011 and a chargesheet was also filed, no charge has been framed against Varma to date.

“The order (suspension of licence) deserves to be quashed and set aside, as it is illegal and unsustainable. The ATPL licence which was issued to the petitioner is restored,” the Court said, adding the DGCA was at liberty to initiate an inquiry, give an opportunity to the petitioner and thereafter pass a reasoned order.

The aircraft rules