Air India's former executive director Jitendra Bhargava has requested the Competition Appellate Tribunal to stay the Jet-Etihad deal.

Mr. Bhargava, a former executive director of national carrier, has filed an appeal with anti-trust tribunal, arguing that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared the Jet-Etihad deal without an apt analysis of the market conditions.

In his appeal, the former Air India executive said that the clearance "is bad in law, fraught with inconsistencies and issued without a proper analysis of the market conditions."

Referring to the revised version of the deal, he claimed that the CCI failed to independently verify changes in deal's contours. He further argued that the deal would further hurt the already-struggling domestic civil aviation industry.

Mr. Bhargava also blamed Jet and Etihad of applying the Commercial Cooperation Agreement before getting the competition watchdog's approval for the same.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has acquired a 24 per cent stake in Naresh Goyal-controlled Jet Airways for Rs 2060 crore. The deal received various regulatory approvals after much back & forth and changes to the deal's contours.

The appeal has been scheduled to be heard on 19th of December, 2013.