Two Air India cabin crew members who were suspended after they were arrested under Section 66A of the Information and Technology Act and jailed for 12 days in May have finally been asked to resume duty from today.
The case against AI pursers Mayank Mohan Sharma and KVJ Rao gained prominence following the arrest of two Palghar girls under the same section of the IT Act for posting a comment questioning the total shutdown for Bal Thackeray"™s funeral, which was first reported by Mumbai Mirror on November 19.
Though they had been suffering for months, Sharma, 31, and Rao, 50, decided to garner public support for their case only last week after seeing the outrage the Palghar case triggered. At least four senior Thane rural police officers face action in that case.
The two have now decided to pursue their demand for action against the errant cops who arrested them. "It took the police nearly two months to make the arrests after lodging the FIR in March," said Sharma."The cyber cell wing investigated the complaint for over a year but never summoned us even once. We will take up the matter with City Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh and demand action against the cops who wrongfully arrested us."
In what appears to be a case of trade union rivalry, two complaints were filed against Sharma and Rao in July 2011 and March 2012 for allegedly posting defamatory comments on Facebook and Orkut. Charges were also filed for insulting the national flag.
The two were arrested on May 11 and kept in jail for 12 days, following which Air India suspended them in accordance with service rules.
"We were placed under arrest on May 11, a Friday, and were produced before the magistrate only on the Monday that followed. Government servants who spend over 48-hours in jail stand suspended," said Sharma.
Sole breadwinners, Sharma has a wife and a two-year-old son and Rao lives with his wife and a school-going daughter. His son is currently undergoing a pilot training course in the United States.
Sharma and Rao had last flown on flights to Frankfurt in April. "It is not about the money we were losing (they were paid only their basic salaries minus the flying allowances from May to November), but about the huge black spot on us and the loss of face," said Sharma.
A letter sent to both Sharma and Rao on Monday has asked them to report at Air India's In-flight Service Training and Development Centre, Santa Cruz, on Tuesday morning. They will first be put through a 15-day training programme comprising a refresher course, promotional course and flight safety course. "After a fortnight of refresher courses, they will be released for flying," said a senior Air India official from the training and development centre.
Asked about their reinstatement, Rao said that the Air India management has finally seen merit in their case and understood the truth. "Looking at the facts presented to us, it is amply clear that there is no case that can be made. The management, after legal consultations, decided that there can be no further action," said an Air India board member.
Asked why it took so long for the company to reinstate them, officials blamed the requisite legal procedure for the delay."Our legal team conducted a discreet enquiry," said an AI board member."We found that the case was motivated as the two parties were fighting for control over the cabin crew union. This case was found to be linked to this power struggle. The legal team also looked at the case in the High Court and gave an opinion that favoured Sharma and Rao."
When Mumbai Mirror contacted Air India union leader Sagar Karnik, who is one of the complainants, he denied any personal vendetta against Sharma and Rao.
"I had first approached the social networking website and reported abuse and sought for removal of the posts. I was, however, told I will have to approach the local police for the same. There is nothing personal in this," said Karnik.