BENGALURU: The High Court on Friday admitted a set of six new winding-up petitions against the Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) over unpaid dues.
The petitioners include global companies which supplied engines and technical support to the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).
The airline ceased to exist after the two-year period to renew the Air Operators Permit (AOP) ended on December 31, 2014. KFA has dues of `7,000 crore to lenders.
The also company owes money to unsecured creditors, airport and tax authorities as well as employees who have not been paid since July 2012.
The petitioners contended that as KFA failed to pay the dues, UBHL, a holding company, had executed the corporate guarantee. Following non-payment, the companies moved the High Court pleading that as UBHL is not in a state to pay, it should be wound up to recover the dues.
However, UBHL contended that they have already deposited `1,250 crore, including FD receipts, and sought more time.
Justice A S Bopanna rejected UBHL’s defence and observed that an attempt is being made by the company by taking all possible technical defence only to wriggle out of the situation. “Though the company contended that they have deposited a sum of `1,250 crore including FD receipts, the said amount will not satisfy the claim,” the court observed and admitted the petition.
The petitions are likely to come up for hearing by February.
Notification Quashed
The High Court has quashed the notification on allotment of three acres of land in Yeshwantpur village to Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) to set up the Mysore Lamps Works Limited.
A division bench of Justices K L Manjunath and S Sujatha was on Friday hearing an appeal against the order of a single-judge bench of the High Court filed by M/s Hind Mercantile Corporation Private Limited, a Chennai-based firm.
The company contended that the land which the government had handed over to KIADB was, in fact, owned by it. However, there was no plant set up and the company wound up. Following this, the government issued a notification alloting the land to KIADB.
The company contended that even after acquiring the land on March 4, 1985, KIADB was not able to take its possession and subsequently, Mysore Lamps Works Limited was also declared sick by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).
It pleaded that the single-judge bench dismmised its petition as it failed to file objection on time.
Followed this, it approached the division bench seeking to quash the government notification granting the land to KIADB as the condition to take possession of the land within a stipulated time had lapsed.