Sanjiv Kapoor reportedly barred from representing Jet Airways as CEO by monitoring panel

In the summer of 2020, scenes of Chairman Naresh Goyal's arrest dragged Jet Airways' reputation to new lows, after it was grounded over unpaid dues in 2019. The airline which was once the biggest carrier in India's domestic skies, landed up in bankruptcy court and a resolution process was initiated under a monitoring committee. As Jet Airways' revival is in doldrums, its new CEO Sanjiv Kapoor has reportedly been barred by the committee from representing the firm.

The monitoring panel has objections against Kapoor's appointment as the chief executive, as per a notice by its head Ashish Chhawchharia. He has been barred from using the title of CEO of Jet Airways and any statement he makes as the chief executive will be treated as misrepresentation on behalf. The committee says that Kapoor can only be considered CEO once it appoints him to the post, and the Jalan Karlrock consortium is yet to take control of the airline.

On the other hand, the consortium has clarified that Kapoor remains a CEO-designate till the transfer of ownership. In a statement, it said, "Mr Sanjiv Kapoor was appointed by JKC as the designated CEO of the to-be revived Jet Airways in April 2022, after agreement and clearance from all relevant stakeholders. The Monitoring Committee has equal representation from the JKC and the erstwhile creditors of Jet Airways. As a US citizen, Mr Kapoor also received the required security clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Home Affairs earlier in 2022. His mandate has been to lead ‘Jet 2.0’ post handover of the company to JKC, and he has been focused on preparation for that since he joined.”

The monitoring panel head had ealier admitted claims worth more than Rs 7,000 crore against the debt laden carrier by Jet Airways' lenders. The consortium has offered to pay Rs 1,010 crore over the course of five years.