Cabin crew files plea to liquidate Jet Airways assets

MUMBAI: The Jet Airways Cabin Crew Association (JACCA) filed a liquidation application before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday seeking liquidation of Jet Airways’ assets on the grounds that there has been a contravention of the resolution plan.

Any further delay in the liquidation process, the association said, will further reduce the value of the assets of the debtladen airline.

Rahul Kamerkar, the counsel representing JACCA, said that the terms of the resolution plan have not been met by the successful bidder Jalan Kalrock Consortium. “There has been a clear contravention of the resolution plan by the successful resolution applicant,” Kamerkar said.

According to the resolution plan, the successful resolution applicant had to pay ₹52 crore in 175 days after the effective date of 20 May. They also had to pay an additional ₹61 crore. As of today, 200 days have already been completed, and the successful bidder is still to pay the total amount of ₹113 crore as per the resolution plan, contravening the resolution plan, Kamerkar said.

Section 33(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. states that on contravention of a resolution plan approved by the adjudicating authority, any person other than t he corporate debtor whose interests are prejudicially affected by the contravention may make an application before the adjudicating authority seeking a liquidation order.

The counsel for the Jalan Kalrock consortium, however, denied getting any application from the crew association. A bench led by Shyam Babu Gautam adjourned the matter to Monday as the parties sought some more time from the tribunal to file their responses.

Last week, an interim application was filed by the JalanKalrock consortium before the NCLT seeking implementation of the resolution plan submitted by them.

On 22 June 2021, the tribunal approved the resolution plan submitted by the Jalan-kalrock consortium subject to necessary approvals. The consortium consists of Uae-based non-resident Indian Murari Lal Jalan, who will hold shares in Jet Airways in his personal capacity and Florian Fritsch, who will hold shares through his investment holding company Kalrock Capital Partners Ltd, Cayman.

However, the lenders and resolution applicants have been at loggerheads in terms of the implementation of the resolution plan.

Currently, some lenders from the committee of creditors said that the consortium was not complying with all the conditions precedent in the resolution plan, said a counsel privy to the matter. However, the resolution applicant said that it has complied with all the conditions laid in the plan, he said.