RS Madireddy vs Union Of India 2024 INSC 425 – Writ Petition Not Maintainable Against Air India

Constitution of India, 1950; Article 12,226– Whether Air India Limited after having been taken over by a private corporate entity could have been subjected to writ jurisdiction of the High Court? AIL, the erstwhile Government run airline having been taken over by the private company Talace India Pvt. Ltd., unquestionably, is not performing any public duty inasmuch as it has taken over the Government company Air India Limited for the purpose of commercial operations, plain and simple, and thus no writ petition is maintainable against AIL. – The question of issuing a writ would only arise when the writ petition is being decided. Thus, the issue about exercise of extra ordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India would arise only on the date when the writ petitions were taken up for consideration and decision (Para 37-38)-The subsequent event i.e. the disinvestment of the Government company and its devolution into a private company would make the company immune from being subjected to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, even if the litigant had entered the portals of the Court while the employer was the Government. (Para 29)

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