47 AAI officials suspended since 2009

Forty-seven Airport Authority of India officials have been placed under suspension since 2009 for various offences like misappropriation of funds, forgery, demanding dowry and torturing wife. Suspension of over 15 of these officials was revoked after initial inquiry and a few of them were terminated from services after a verdict from the courts. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister if State for Civil Aviation KC Venugopal said out of the 18,502 officials, 47 of them "are placed under suspension/deemed suspension."

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Disciplinary action in the AAI is taken as per AAI Employees (Conduct, Discipline and Appeal) Regulations, 2003 and the act is also being amended to the effect that retired employees seeking commercial employment within a period of one year after retirement shall obtain the previous sanction of the competent authority. "The draft amendments to AAI (CDA) Regulations has already been taken up with the Ministry of Labour & Employment for concurrence," he said.

Reason for suspension of officials include dowry case, involvement in the murder of wife, facilitating pilot trainees to obtain CPL, demanding dowry, torturing wife, forgery and cheating. AV Janardhan, DGM (ATC), was suspended for deploying non-ATC personnel for handling live Air Traffic on January 9, 2012 at the Tirupathi Airport. But his suspension was revoked and it has been decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings under major penalty clauses against him, the Lok Sabha was informed.

One of the cases of suspension was related to the theft of a 26-inch LCD TV by an official in Kolkata. The case is under trial in the court. An Assistant General Manager from Mumbai was dismissed from services in May, 2011 after a court convicted him of murdering his wife.