Bengaluru: The National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) Bengaluru Bench has admitted Captain GR Gopinath's Deccan Charters, a Bengaluru-based company that operates chartered helicopters and fixed-wing charter services, into Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This was for a total outstanding default amount of over Rs 9.82 crore (Rs 9,82, 24,077)
The Bench has appointed Manish Kumar as the Interim Resolution professional to carry the functions.
GR Gopinath, along with other directors, intermittently approached Krone Finstock Private Limited requesting that they were in immediate requirement of a loan to the tune of Rs 5 crore. The Bench observed that based on the representation and warranties of the corporate debtor, the Financial Creditor (Krone) initially forwarded a sum of Rs 50 lakh in 2018 and ,subsequently, a Loan Agreement was entered between Krone and Deccan Charters. Krone also released another Rs 50 lakh and Rs 4 crore in the same year.
Deccan Charters initially paid a sum of Rs 3,07,800 to Krone which was adjusted against the accrued interest. However, Deccan Charters failed to make payment as per the terms laid out in the agreement. Further, in October, 2020 after a series of discussions, the Bengaluru-based company handed over four cheques for an amount of Rs 1,00,00,000 each, but those cheques were dishonoured on November 3, 2020.
Meanwhile, a Business Transfer Agreement was entered into between the Respondent (Deccan Charters) and GMDAPL (GSEC Monarch Deccan Aviation Private Limited), in 2019, wherein as per clause 1 of the BTA, GMDAPL agreed to undertake 100% of the assets and liabilities of the business undertaking of "Air Deccan" and settle all the liabilities of the respondent which included the liability of repayment of debt i.e. loan disbursed by the Applicant. Accordingly, it was claimed that the repayment of loan is the responsibility of GMDAPL.
Krone had filed the application under Section 7 of IBC seeking initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process against Deccan Charters over the default of Rs 9,82,24,077 on May 4, 2022.
Gopinath had launched Deccan Aviation (Deccan Charters) in 1997 and in 2003, he started Air Deccan. In 2007, Mallya bought Air Deccan and two years later Gopinath started a cargo carrier Deccan 360. In 2011, Deccan 360 was shut down. A year after this, Gopinath launched Deccan Shuttles, but the service wound up in 2013.
