INDIA:AN INDIAN court has upheld the right of Indian Airlines to ground overweight air hostesses.
Dismissing a petition filed by five air hostesses who exceeded the weight limit imposed by the airline, Justice AK Sikri of the Delhi high court said there was no "unreasonableness or arbitrariness" in the decision to ground them.
"Grace and concessions are not matters of legal right. They are matters of policy and we do not find any illegality in the decision," the judge said.
The judgment also stated that air crews had to be athletic to deal with emergencies and with the "strenuous" nature of their duties.
"That is the reason why not only maximum but minimum weights are prescribed," he said, adding that he did not want air hostesses to be "size zero".
"Even models now do not want to be size zero" Justice Sikri said, but he added that statistics revealed that overweight people faced constant challenges including remarks, discrimination at work, low self-esteem and poor body image.
In his verdict, the judge even drew a droll parallel from the scriptures by stating that if by perseverance a snail could reach the Ark, why could these women not persist and lose weight.
Appearing for the airline, solicitor general Gopal Subramanium contended that the action taken against the overweight air hostesses was justified.
"It was clearly mentioned in their contract that their job could be terminated if they put on weight above the permissible limit," Mr Subramanium argued, a contention the judge endorsed.
As the hearing was drawing to a close, the lawyer for the air hostesses posed a question to Justice Sikri as to why a pilot who was 20kg overweight was not similarly grounded.
"Why does this rule apply to stewardesses alone?" he asked.
"Maybe that's why," the judge shot back.