Indian aviation minister says will fire IndiGo chief if needed. Can government sack the CEO of private business? What the law actually allows
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Indian aviation minister says will fire IndiGo chief if needed. Can government sack the CEO of private business? What the law actually allows")
File photo: Indigo CEO Pieter Elbers addresses a media briefing in New Delhi on May 30, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
Can the government really fire IndiGo’s CEO? After flight chaos, Aviation Minister Naidu says he will sack Pieter Elbers if needed. But can the GOI remove a private company boss? Here's all you need to know.
Indian civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, in an interview, has vowed that, if required, the Government of India will fire IndiGo Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers over the flight chaos that left thousands of flyers stranded in recent days. Speaking to the Times of India, Naidu apologised for the inconvenience borne by passengers and said that "if it comes to that," he will "definitely" sack the company's CEO. But, how can that be? Can the GOI sack IndiGo, a private company's CEO? Here's all you need to know.
What did Naidu say?
During the interview, aviation minister Naidu was asked if he was going to sack the IndiGo CEO for the recent chaos. "If it comes to that, definitely I will do it. I will charge them with all the penalties that are there. Definitely, I will look into all of those aspects...", he said.
But, can the Indian government sack a private company's CEO?
Yes and No. While the Government cannot directly sack the CEO of a private company, in its regulatory role, it can demand the removal. However, this can only be done in cases involving significant legal or regulatory violations, such as fraud, embezzlement, or some other serious misconduct.
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Has the GOI ever used its power to fire the CEO of a private company?
Yes, the Government of India, in the past, has intervened in major corporate crises and has forced the removal of existing management, including the CEO.
In 2018, after a major debt default by IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services), amid fears of "contagion effect" on the wider financial system, the GOI asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to take control of IL&FS. The NCLT then dissolved the company's board of directors and management. In their place, a new government-nominated super-board led by Uday Kotak was appointed to manage the resolution and process of recovering excess remuneration paid to former directors.
Before that, in 2009, the government intervened in the massive accounting fraud surrounding Ramalinga Raju, the founder and chairman of Satyam Computer Services. The government then dissolved the existing board and appointed its own board in its place. The company was later sold to Tech Mahindra.
