THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Jan 21: The Supreme Court today rejected a petition filed by the Jharkhand government challenging a high court decision to annul an FIR against BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari.
The two MPs were accused of pressuring air traffic control (ATC) to approve the takeoff of their chartered flight from Deoghar airport after sunset on August 31, 2022, in breach of airport security protocols.
The case stemmed from an FIR registered at Kunda police station in Deoghar district against nine individuals, including Dubey and Tiwari.
The high court had quashed the FIR on March 13, 2023, citing the absence of prior approval from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, as mandated by the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020, which requires such sanction before filing an FIR against a Member of Parliament.
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A bench of Justices A S Oka and Manmohan, while dismissing the plea, allowed the state government to submit the findings from its investigation to the competent authority under the Aircraft Act within four weeks.
The bench said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will determine whether a complaint should be filed under the law.
The Supreme Court had previously reserved its decision on December 18 regarding the Jharkhand government’s appeal against the high court’s ruling.
