Dismissal of senior flight steward: LHC suspends operation of ombudsman’s decision

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday suspended the operation of a decision by the federal ombudsman regarding the dismissal of a senior flight steward of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) Adnan Khan for allegedly harassing an air hostess.

The court suspended the impugned decision of the ombudsman subject to deposit of fine amount of rupees five lac with the deputy registrar (judicial) and sought replies from the respondents by January 22.

Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the harassment allegations made by the PIA air hostess were baseless.

The counsel contended that the office of the federal ombudsman does not have the legal authority to directly pass such orders.

He claimed that the decision was one-sided as the petitioner was not provided an opportunity to cross examine the evidence on record.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned orders and reinstate the petitioner to his job. The air hostess had accused the petitioner of causing her harassment on WhatsApp.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025