Several aircraft lessors from Go First appeared before the Delhi High Court on Friday, seeking the deregistration of their planes by the aviation regulator DGCA to reclaim them from the troubled airline. The lessors argued before the high court that the refusal of deregistration by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was unlawful.
Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju presided over the proceedings and listened to the arguments presented by the petitioner lessors for over an hour and a half. The matter was scheduled for further hearing on May 30, when the responses of the defendants would be considered.
The high court also instructed all parties to submit written statements one day before the next hearing.The lessors who brought the case before the high court are Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2 Limited, EOS Aviation 12 (Ireland) Limited, Pembroke Aircraft Leasing 11 Limited, and SMBC Aviation Capital Limited.Due to the insolvency resolution proceedings and the resulting moratorium on financial obligations and asset transfers of Go First, the lessors are currently unable to deregister and repossess the aircraft they leased to the airline.
The lessors' legal representatives stated that they had approached the civil aviation regulator to request the deregistration of their aircraft, but their pleas were rejected. Although they had not received any communication from the DGCA, they discovered through the regulator's website that their applications had been denied.Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing one of the lessors, argued that the aircraft belonged to their client, and an interim resolution professional (IRP) had no authority to take control of assets belonging to a third party.Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, representing EOS Aviation 12 (Ireland) Limited, contended that the issue of aircraft deregistration was beyond the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and that the appropriate recourse lay under Article 226 of the Constitution, as the dispute concerned the lessor and the DGCA.Another lawyer asserted that under the Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorizations (IDERA), the DGCA needed to carry out the deregistration of the aircraft upon the lessors' request.On May 10, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granted the voluntary insolvency resolution plea made by Go First.On May 22, the NCLAT upheld the order of the principal bench of the NCLT in Delhi, which had previously approved Go First's request to initiate voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and appointed an interim resolution professional (IRP) to suspend the company's board.Several lessors have approached the aviation regulator seeking deregistration and repossession of Go First's 45 planes.Go First ceased operations on May 3.