In a setback to the new owners of Jet Airways, Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), the Supreme Court of India has dismissed their appeal to stay the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT’s) order to pay the provident fund (PF) and gratuity amounting to INR 2500 million to the former workers and employees of the airline.
The order came over a petition challenging the orders of the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had on June 22, 2021, approved the bids of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium and directed payment of the outstanding dues to the workers.
The appellate tribunal also dismissed JKC's plea to cap its payment liability under the resolution plan at INR 4750 million. Earlier, JKC had sought clarity that any additional amount over and above INR 520 million payable to workmen or employees be paid out of the bank balance of Jet, from the amount reserved for other creditors.
In December 2022, the NCLAT dismissed JKC's plea and clarified that PF and gratuity dues would have to be borne by the successful resolution applicant as per the approved plan.
In a separate proceeding, the Mumbai NCLT on January 13 permitted ownership transfer to the consortium. It had allowed JKC's plea and had set November 16, 2022, as the effective date for the resolution plan.
The NCLT had ruled that the consortium had satisfied conditions necessary for the ownership transfer. Th lenders of Jet Airways had moved the NCLAT opposing the ownership transfer to the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium.