Jet Airways crisis: SBI moves intervention plea against HDFC claim on airline's BKC property; NCLT adjourns matter for 8 August

Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI), the lead lender to the bankrupt Jet Airways, on Wednesday moved an intervention application against mortgage lender HDFC’s plea claiming rights over a portion of the airline’s BKC property. The National Company Law of Tribunal (NCLT) adjourned the matter for 8 August. On 4 July, the mortgage lender HDFC had moved the NCLT seeking to keep the airline’s BKC property out of the bankruptcy process saying three floors of the BKC property are mortgaged with it as collateral for over Rs 400 crore loan. Meanwhile, the tribunal approved Ashish Chhawchharia of Grant Thornton as the resolution professional (RP) for Jet Airways which stopped flying since 17 April. [caption id=“attachment_6637731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Chhawchharia, who got 81 percent votes of the committee of creditors, was the interim RP since 20 June, when the airline was admitted for insolvency. The liabilities and debt of the airline are over Rs 36,000 crore. On 18 July, the RP had said he received claims worth Rs 24,887 crore in 16,643 claims, including Rs 8,462 crore by financial creditors, against the company as of 4 July. Significantly, he rejected a claim of Rs 229 crore from JetAir, the privately held company of founder Naresh Goyal, which was the general sales agent of Jet Airways and the holding company the Goyals’s stake in the airline. The lenders, who control 50 percent ownership of the airline, after failing to get a buyer, was forced to send it for bankruptcy on 17 June, and on the 20th of the month the Mumbai NCLT admitted the plea. Last Saturday, the lenders in a renewed bid to sell the remaining assets invited expression of interest from interested parties with a deadline of 3 August. Financial creditors, who also include banks, have made 37 claims worth Rs 10,231 crore as of 4 July, he said. The list of financial creditors, whose claims have been admitted include 14 domestic banks and financial institutions, 12 foreign banks and eight lessors, the RP said. State Bank has made a claim of Rs 1,644 crore, including cash credit inclusive of interest, term loans and bank guarantees issued but not invoked, it said, adding its claims worth Rs 19 crore were rejected. Private sector lender Yes Bank has claimed Rs 1,084 crore, followed by PNB’s Rs 963 crore and IDBI Bank’s Rs 594 crore. Operational creditors excluding workmen and employees have made a claim of Rs 12,372 crore, with the entire amount being under verification, while the workmen and employees have made a claim of Rs 443 crore which is also under verification, Chhawchharia said. Apart from this, authorised representatives of workmen and employees have made 11,965 claims of Rs 735 crore, he said, adding other creditors, including other financial creditors and operational creditors, have made 121 claims amounting to Rs 1,105 crore.