Go First lessor case: Delhi HC may pronounce final order soon

livemint.com:

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday concluded hearing in the plea moved by three aircraft lessors of the grounded Go First airline alleging inadequate aircraft maintenance. The final order in the case is expected in the first week of October. A single bench of the Delhi High Court led by Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju, reserved the order on the plea after concluding the hearing.

BOC Aviation (Ireland) Ltd, ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland, and DAE 13 Ireland Designated Activity Co. submitted new applications after discovering their parked aircraft in poor condition during inspections. All three lessors accused the resolution professional of Go First of not maintaining the lessor's assets.

The RP argued against the maintainability of the plea, stating that it had already reached its finality in previous orders in the case. According to RP, the single bench should not pass any directives because, according to the "doctrine of merger," its 5 July order had already merged with the 12 July division bench order of the high court, which was upheld and modified by the Supreme Court. Therefore, only a higher authority, like the division bench, can address these pleas.

BOC Aviation informed the court that their planes were in deplorable condition, with issues such as poor maintenance of landing gear and the main body. The planes were not only dirty, but they found the presence of algae during inspection due to accumulation of water as the planes were not covered during unusual rains. BOC said that it found scratches on the panels and the signs of subpar maintenance were evident.