NCLT Defers Hearing On Go First's Insolvency Case To July

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi division bench of Justice Mahendra Khandelwal and Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan has postponed the hearing on the insolvency plea of Go First, the grounded airline, to July 11, 2024. This decision came among concerns regarding the future of the airline. The tribunal stated it needed time for further examination of the recent developments, particularly the ramifications of the Delhi High Court's order, before reaching a verdict.

Go First, formerly known as Go Airlines (India) Limited, filed for insolvency in May 2023, following a cascade of financial woes attributed to faulty engines supplied by US-based Pratt & Whitney. The airline, founded in 2005 and previously backed by the Wadia Group, ceased operations shortly after filing for insolvency, leaving creditors grappling with outstanding dues amounting to over Rs 11,463 crore.

Engine lessors, seeking to reclaim their assets, faced further delays as the tribunal deliberated on the implications of the Delhi High Court's directive to deregister all 54 aircraft leased by Go First. The Delhi High Court on April 26 directed the DGCA to forthwith, and no later than the next five working days, process the deregistration applications filed by the lessors in respect of all 54 aircrafts. The court ordered that all maintenance tasks in respect of the aircrafts shall be undertaken by the lessors and all of their authorized representatives up to and until the time the aircrafts are de-registered and exported, in pursuance of Rule 32A of the Aircraft Rules. However, the Delhi High Court order did not include engines in its ruling because their lessors had not petitioned that particular court.

During the hearing, the Resolution Professional representing Go First declined to provide clarity on the airline's future course of action following the Delhi High Court's ruling, which left the company without any aircraft. The tribunal acknowledged the urgency expressed by engine lessors. Therefore, it listed the matter on July 11, 2024.

Case Title: In The Matter Of Go Airlines (India) Limited

Case Number: IA-594/2024, IA-1640/2024, IA-1318/2024, IA-1301/2024, IA-2850/2023, IA2944/2023, IA-3048/2023, IA/3254/2023, IA/3277/2023, IA/3280/2023, IA3316/2023, IA-3472/2023, IA-3481/2023, IA-3942/2023, Int. Pet.-68/2023, IA-3101/2023, IA-4361/2023, IA-5973/2023

Advocate for the Applicant: Adv Sumit Chatterjee in IA no. 4361 of 2023, IA No. 2850/2023- Advs Mr. Ajay Kumar, Mr. Hetram Bishnoi and Ms. Anchal Nanda, Sr. Adv Kevic Setalvad, Adv Nimish Vakil, Adv Pai Amit, Adv Bhavana, Adv Karan Vakil in IA-3316/23, Adv Naman Joshi, Adv Ritika Vohra, Adv Shivam Gera in Int. Pet.-68/2023, IA- 3101/2023, Sr Adv Arvind Nayar, Adv Neha Mathen, Adv Akshay Joshi, Adv Shubhanshu Thakur in IA- 594/24, Mr. Ankur Mahindra, Mr. Ravi Nath, Mr. Aditya Kapur, Mr. Rohan Taneja, Mr. A Tripathi, Mr. Abhijeet Mittal, Ms. Yashika Arora, Ms. Shubhangi Jain, Mr. Siddhant in IA-3481/23 & IA-3472/23, Adv Anandh, Adv Pritha Bannerjee, Adv Shivam J Kumar, Adv Saket Sathapathy, Adv Anubhav Dutta, Adv Varun Gupta, Adv Ananya Gupta in IA-3048/23, Adv A Mehta in IA-1301/24, Adv A Gokhale, Adv Meghana Rajadhyaksha, Adv Vaijayant Paliwal, Adv Medha S, Adv Mehak Nayak, Adv Harit Lakhari in IA- 2944/2023, IA/3277/2023, IA/3280/2023, Adv Marylou Bilawala, Adv Pranaya Goyal, Adv Dhruv Khanna, Adv Sharleen Lobo, Adv Chiranjivi Sharma, Adv Priya Desai, Adv Apoorva Kaushik, Adv Vasu Gupta, Adv Saakshi Malpekar, Adv Nehal Gupta, Adv Uday Mathur in IA-1318, 1640, 3254.

Advocate for the Respondent: Ms. Shiva Lakshmi, CGSC, Mr. Rajdeep for R-2, 3 & 4 For the RP : Adv Diwakar Maheshwari, Adv Pratiksha Mishra, Adv Shreyas Endupuganti, Karunya Lakshmi.

Click Here To Read/Download Order or Judgment