The Mumbai division of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the sale of Jet Airway to the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.
The arbitration body that resolves disputes between corporations announced that the ownership transfer date will serve as the beginning date for the 180-day window to pay the lenders' obligations.
About six months is given to the consortium to pay debts and take over Jet Airways.
"This means equity can finally come in, and launch planning can resume. However much time has been lost, will have to be made up," one person familiar with the matter said.
Earlier, JKC had asked the court for directions on how to transfer the company, but Jet Airways' lenders claimed that JKC had not satisfied three of the five prerequisites outlined in the resolution plan that had been authorised by the NCLT.
The NCLAT ruling
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruling from October 21 noted that JKC has "completed all necessary conditions precedent to the satisfaction of the monitoring committee," which was the source of contention between the Jet Airways lenders and JKC that resulted in a deadlock.
On January 2, a member of the Jet Airways monitoring committee named Ashish Chhawchharia filed a letter to JKC objecting to Sanjiv Kapoor using the title of Jet Airways CEO because JKC has not yet received control of the airline as part of the resolution plan.
JKC named aviation veteran Kapoor as the CEO of Jet Airways, which was grounded, in March of last year.
Seven people make up the monitoring committee: three voting members chosen by lenders, three voting members chosen by JKC, and Chhawchharia as a non-voting member.
A number of Jet Airways' senior management executives, pilots, and cabin crew have left amid the uncertainties surrounding the airline's restart.
According to those with knowledge of the development, Mark Turner, vice president of in-flight services at Jet Airways, has been placed on leave without pay, according to reports cited by CNBC TV-18 in December.
Due to mounting losses and debt of roughly Rs 8,000 crore, Jet Airways was forced to be grounded in April 2019.
The restoration plan
The restoration plan proposed by a group consisting of Kalrock Capital in the UK and Dubai-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan was approved by the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) in October 2020.
The consortium had won the airline's insolvency resolution process as the highest bidder. The consortium's offer was accepted under the insolvency resolution process in June 2021.
The NCLAT ordered the consortium on October 21 to pay the provident fund and gratuity dues of employees until June 2019, when the insolvency procedure began, which put a stop to the airline's rebirth.
The consortium informed NCLAT that paying the approximately Rs 250 crore in debts was not included in its initial settlement plan, which had been accepted by the National Company Law Tribunal.
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