NEW DELHI: Revival of Go First is likely to face more delay as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday deferred the hearing of applications filed by the aircraft lessors to September 1.
This deferment by the insolvency tribunal comes after the Delhi High Court denied Go First the permission to fly lessors’ aircraft for scheduled maintenance.
A two-member bench of NCLT, comprising Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul P Bhatnagar, has directed the resolution professional (RP) of Go First to submit details of the subsequent developments in the next 10 days, including the status of the maintenance of the leased aircraft.
Moreover, the tribunal has also asked the RP to file the reply over the pleas filed by three new Go First lessors in two weeks and a rejoinder, if any, by them next week. During the proceeding, Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, representing the RP, informed the tribunal that Go First has approached the Supreme Court against the orders of the Delhi High Court.
Earlier a single-member bench of the Delhi High Court had permitted the lessors of Go First to access and inspect the planes they had leased to the airline. This was also upheld by the division bench of the high court, following which Go First moved to the apex court.
A senior aviation industry expert says that revival prospects of Go First, which stopped flying on May 3, is becoming challenging day by day as it continues to face hurdles in courts and tribunals.