Mumbai: In yet another relief to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal, the Bombay High Court on Monday stayed show cause notice issued to them by Canara Bank under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Master Circular on Wilful Defaulter.
A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale was hearing a plea by the couple challenging the show cause notices, declaring them wilful defaulters. Earlier, the HC had stayed similar notices issued to Goyals by the IDBI Bank.
Goyal contended that on receiving the show cause notice, he asked Canara Bank to show the list of documents relied on while declaring them wilful defaulters. However, they were not given the documents, which Goyals argued as a violation of the principles of natural justice. The plea also added that the order was in derogation of the intent of the RBI Master Circular.
Goyal says he had not taken loan from Canara Bank
Goyal contended in his plea that he was appointed as a non-executive director and his role was to engage in brand building, hunting for talent and best human resources for the company and increasing the presence of the company in the international market. He further said that he was not involved in the day-to-day affairs or executive decisions of Jet Airways.
He also contended that he had not taken a loan from Canara Bank but that ‘Jet Airways Limited’ had taken a loan and hence the bank could not declare him a wilful defaulter independently without proceedings against the company.
