Air Mauritius sued for Rs 23M

Dismissed on 8 December 2010, after only 70 days at Air Mauritius, Soobhiraj Bungsraz lodged a lawsuit for damages against the national airline. The case was heard on Wednesday March 9th by Judge Abdurrafeek Hamuth. The former CEO believes that he had been “arbitrarily dismissed and without any valid justification.” Called to the bar on Wednesday, he said he was receiving a monthly salary of Rs 425,000 as from 1 October 2010. It was a three-year contract. He also enjoyed various benefits such as free airline tickets for his family and himself. However, on 8 December 2010, Soobhiraj Bungsraz was summoned to a meeting of the board of Air Mauritius, during which a motion of censure was adopted unanimously to remove him from office. It was question of his “controversial lack of skills”. The secretary of the national airline, Fouad Nourally was also heard during the trial. He said that under a clause of the employment contract of Soobhiraj Bungsraz, the company or the CEO himself could end the contract at any time, provided leaving a three-month notice. He added that Soobhiraj Bungsraz received three months pay for dismissal without notice as additional allocations. In total, he said, Air Mauritius paid Rs 1.6 million as compensation. The judge invited the parties to submit their arguments in writing before April 15.