NEW DELHI: An Air India steward is fighting for his job in the Supreme Court here after being sacked for sporting a large bushy moustache similar to the one worn by the airline’s famous mascot, the ‘Maharaja’.
The steward was first grounded and then given the boot for refusing to shave off his moustache.
His counsel asked the judges, “Can the size of moustache be a ground for dismissal in a democratic country? This is shocking.”
The Times of India reported that the steward, Joynath Victor De, joined Indian Airlines in 1968 as a flight steward.
He was promoted to the post of assistant manager, flight services, in 1994, as his bushy but well-trimmed moustache was well within the Operation Manual Rules of 1991.
The manual was revised in 1996 and the rule permitting flight stewards to sport moustaches was deleted.
In January 1999, his refusal to shave off his moustache saw him grounded with reduced pay and later ordered to take compulsory retirement.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether De’s more than 40-year-old moustache, groomed since 1968, could be a reason for his dismissal from service.
