PNB asks NCLAT to cancel Jet Airways rescue plan

A consortium of London-based Colorrock Capital and a UAE-based businessman agreed last year to pump ₹1,000 crore as working capital and fund the creditors of Jet, which hit hard due to the debt pile-up in 2019.

PNB, the court-appointed official for Jet’s revival, Ashish Chhawchharia, and a spokesperson for the consortium that invested the money in the collapsed airline did not respond to requests for comment.

PNB, the country’s second-largest state lender, argues that Jet’s court-appointed defense officer initially accepted its claim of around 10 billion rupees ($137 million) from the airline’s backers, but was then reduced to 2 billion rupees. reduced, as seen in its tribunal filing. by Reuters.

In the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, PNB argued that the reduction in amount was arbitrary and illegal.

On Thursday, the tribunal agreed to hear PNB’s case, Aman Lekhi, Additional Solicitor General of India, who argued for the bank, told Reuters. The matter will be heard on September 21.

“The way PNB has been treated is wrong – fundamentally and procedurally,” Lekhi said.

Once India’s largest private carrier, Jet Airways was crippled by a plethora of losses and debt as it attempted to compete with lower-cost rivals and was forced to shut down all flights in April 2019. , thereby putting its lessees, suppliers, lenders and thousands more at risk. employees.

Jet’s resolution plan was approved by its financial creditors last year. PNB has said that since the resolution plan mandates only minimum payment of the liquidation value to the dissatisfied creditors, there was no option left but to approve the plan.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.