Jet lenders move SC against JKC consortium
New Delhi: The lenders of the bankrupt airline Jet Airways, led by State Bank of India, have now moved to the Supreme Court, challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order dated August 28. According to a lawyer involved in the case, this new petition contests the NCLAT's order to allow the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) to encash a performance bank guarantee of Rs 150 crore to pay off dues amounting to Rs350 crore to the lenders. This payment is a condition precedent for the transfer of ownership of the airline to JKC.
The counsel also stated that they are likely to raise concerns about the suspected unknown sources from which JKC has paid Rs 200 crore before the Supreme Court. The case is scheduled for a hearing on Monday before a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. These legal challenges are likely to disrupt the revival plan for Jet Airways, which the new lenders aim to restart by 2024.
On the 4th of October, lenders had expressed during the NCLAT proceedings that the deposited money by the JKC could potentially be laundered. According to the lenders, they have filed a new application in the Mumbai branch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) concerning the source of the money paid to them by JKC. They claim that the money they received has come from ‘unknown sources,’ and JKC did not disclose the source of the funds.
The lenders assert that as per the resolution plan, the money should come from JKC and from legitimate sources. However,JKC-led consortium had said on September 29 that they had fulfilled the financial commitment of ₹350 crore and said the new promoters are determined to re-establish the operations of the airline up and running in 2024. “Further
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