In another communication, also dated December 5, 2025, the DGCA had granted IndiGo a temporary one-time exemption from some night operations-related changes in the new FDTL norms for its Airbus A320 pilots.
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and questioned its rationale to disallow clubbing of pilots’ leave with weekly rest, even as the regulator clarified that weekly rest under the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) “has never been withdrawn, is non‑negotiable, and no exemption has been granted to any of the airlines”.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to DGCA and IndiGo, and granted them two weeks to file their reply to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that objected to a December 5, 2025, instruction by the regulator where it had declared an indefinite withdrawal of the clause of ‘no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest’.
According to the DGCA, the instruction was issued to bar clubbing of weekly rest period—a DGCA mandate—with their leaves, which is otherwise a contractual obligation between the airlines and their employees/pilots, with no involvement of the regulator otherwise.
A PIL filed by Sabari Roy Lenka, a former aircraft engineer, Aman Monga, a crew resource management trainer and Kiran Singh, a social worker—residents of Delhi and Gurgaon—has highlighted that the DGCA’s instruction has “increased accident risk and pilot fatigue exposure”, and is seeking that the same be quashed and set aside.
The DGCA’s counsel, Anjana Gosain, told the bench on Friday that “weekly rest has remained in operation and only one relaxation has been given, only specific to IndiGo…till February 10.”
The petitioners had challenged a December 5, 2025, DGCA communication where the aviation regulator, referring to a letter dated January 20, 2025, had stated that the instruction that ‘no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest’ “is hereby withdrawn”, “in view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision”.
This was applicable for all airlines and effective immediately, with no time specified as to when the withdrawal would remain in effect. The new FDTL norms stipulated that no other leaves could be substituted against the mandatory weekly rest period of 48 hours for pilots.
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In another communication, also dated December 5, 2025, the DGCA had granted IndiGo a temporary one-time exemption from some night operations-related changes in the new FDTL norms for its Airbus A320 pilots. The temporary rollback is in place until February 10, with the rollback pertaining primarily to night duty-related provisions under the new FDTL norms.
Referring to the first communication where it had withdrawn the provision that no leave shall be substituted with weekly rest, Justice Karia orally inquired from DGCA, “…So your leave and rest cannot be mixed up, which you have withdrawn. Why? Because of the dispute which arose because of the disruption because of one particular airline. If you are issuing two letters on the same day, one is till February 10, another is indefinite. This letter is forever. If you have limited the time up to February 10 in the second letter, why not for the first one?”
Chief Justice Upadhyaya further inquired orally from the DGCA, “What is the rationale for this? And it applies to all airlines…Why have you withdrawn it (the instruction that no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest)?”
Gosain submitted that during an audit in November last year, undertaken to check the preparedness for implementing the FDTL norms, it was reported by airlines that leaves were being clubbed with weekly rest periods. “It was found that if weekly rest is falling on the 1st and 2nd day of a month, the pilots were clubbing two leaves to this, so that they get four days together (of not working). Now leave is a contractual obligation between the airline and the pilot, DGCA has nothing to do with it…So we only said that leave and weekly rest have to be kept separate, and weekly rest must continue, you should not adjust leave with that. We will issue a clarification,” Gosain added.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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