Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court refused to hear the Go First RP appeal, keeping the lower court’s order in place.
- The ruling confirms that the airline’s lessors have the right to inspect the aircraft.
- Go First remains grounded, owing over Rs 6,500 crore to its financial creditors.
New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the appeal filed by the Resolution Professional (RP) of Go First against the Delhi High Court’s order and upheld the single judge’s order allowing the airline’s lessors to inspect the aircraft.
The Court observed that the lessors own the planes.
Go First stopped flying since May 3, 2023, and approached voluntarily for initiation of CIRP against it, as it was unable to fly due to technical difficulties faced by the non-availability of engines from Pratt & Whitney and a severe financial crisis.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, refused to entertain the appeal filed by Go First RP, in its order.
“The lessors own the aircraft, it is their aircraft. We will not entertain this appeal (filed by Go First RP). Since proceedings are pending before the Delhi High Court, where petitions being argued on day-to-day basis. We are not entertaining this at the present stage. Let the jurisdictional issues also be addressed before the single judge,” the CJI Dr Chandrachud said in the order.
Earlier on August 2, Go First moved the Supreme Court by filing an appeal against the Delhi High Court division bench’s order, which upheld the single judge’s order allowing the airline’s lessors to inspect the aircraft.
Senior lawyer, Shyam Divan, appearing for the RP, said that the approval by DGCA has been granted and it is backed by 100 percent approval of CoC. So the DGCA says this is the broad way forward and now I am under broad mandate of NCLT to see that this particular airline is revived and fly.
“I have to try and ensure that this airline operate. It is my duty to ensure this. I am duty bound to do,” Divan argued before the Supreme Court.
Go First claimed before the Supreme Court that it is the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), not the High Court that has the jurisdiction to hear the case.
The CoC includes Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank. The airline owes financial creditors worth a whopping of more than Rs 6,500 crore.
