Supreme Court Dismisses Go First’s Plea, Upholding Aircraft Inspections for Lessors: Ensuring Enhanced Safety Measures

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Summary:

In a major setback to Go First, the Supreme Court declined to grant a stay on the Delhi High Court’s ruling that allowed lessors to inspect its aircraft. The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, refused to intervene in the ongoing proceedings before the single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court.

Main Article:

Background

Go First had moved to the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision on July 13, which allowed lessors to inspect and maintain the aircraft. The airline argued that conflicting directives from two separate forums were at issue.

Arguments

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Go First, emphasized that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is the appropriate forum and that the airline possesses all necessary approvals from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and 100% approval from the Committee of Creditors (COC). On the other hand, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the lessors, stated that the central government is bound to deregister the aircraft as the airline has not paid the rental lease since 2020.

Supreme Court’s Decision

Upon dismissing the plea, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated that the ongoing proceedings before the Delhi High Court should continue to address the jurisdictional issues. The Supreme Court refused to entertain the case at present.

Current Status

The day-to-day hearing is underway in the Delhi High Court before a single bench judge regarding the plea of the lessors to deregister the aircraft. Meanwhile, Go First has approached the NCLT to refund passengers who had booked advance tickets. The lenders of Go First have deferred the timeline to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the airline by a month.

Flight Operations

Due to operational reasons, Go First has cancelled all scheduled flight operations until August 9.

Conclusion

The legal battle continues as Go First faces challenges in the Delhi High Court and NCLT. The fate of the airline’s operations and financial obligations remains uncertain as the resolution process faces hurdles.