The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) to clearly demonstrate how the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had wilfully disobeyed its directions on implementing the revised flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms, which were approved earlier this year.

Justice Amit Sharma posed the question after FIP’s counsel argued that despite the DGCA’s April undertaking to roll out the new fatigue-management rules in phases from July 1 to November 1, the regulator was still permitting airlines — including Air India and SpiceJet — to operate in ways that allegedly bypassed the norms.

The judge pushed back, noting that any plea for contempt required clear evidence of deliberate defiance. “I understand if there is an issue of unreasonableness or discriminat

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