Go First case: Delhi HC questions DGCA over different responses to repossession requests by different lessors

The lawyer appearing for DGCA reiterated to the court that no application for repossession has been processed as yet on account of Go First going into moratorium

Delhi High Court on May 31 asked the Director General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as to why different responses were sent to aircraft repossession request of different lessors.

According to the lessors, DGCA's website shows that the request of some of the Go First lessors has been rejected while the request of some of the lessors has been kept in abeyance.

Anjana Gosain, the lawyer appearing for DGCA, reiterated to the court that no application for repossession has been processed as yet on account of the airline going into moratorium on May 10. Gosain further told the court that some applications are shown as rejected in its website over a technical glitch. She further told the court that DGCA had sent a communication on the status of the application to all the aircraft lessors who had made an application for repossession.

The court has asked DGCA to explain this with relevant documents on June 1.

The aircraft lessors are expected to respond to the arguments of DGCA and Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) tomorrow. The court may reserve the case for judgments since it is closing for summer vacations on June 2.

On May 30, DGCA clarified that it has put on hold requests from lessors to repossess planes from Go First, as the carrier's bankruptcy process imposes a freeze on assets which supersedes such requests.

Yesterday, the lawyers for Go First's IRP argued that the aircraft lessors initiated "parallel proceedings" despite a clear directive from the NCLAT to approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) regarding the status of aircraft leases terminated before the moratorium.

The lawyers emphasized the interconnectedness of the insolvency proceedings and the proceedings before the Delhi High Court, asserting that any order issued by the High Court would directly impact the ongoing insolvency process.

On May 26th, the aircraft lessors contended that the denial of deregistration by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was "illegitimate." Their lawyers stated that they had approached the civil aviation regulator to request deregistration of their aircraft, but their pleas were rejected.

On May 24th, the DGCA informed the court that the application by the aircraft lessors to repossess their aircraft had not been officially rejected. Instead, it was put on hold due to the ongoing moratorium.

Aircraft lessors, including Pembroke Aviation, Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2 Ltd, EOS Aviation, and SMBC Aviation, filed a writ with the Delhi High Court, seeking directions to release the planes leased to the financially distressed airline. The writ requested the court to instruct the DGCA to deregister the aircraft currently leased to Go First.

On May 22nd, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld the NCLT's order admitting Go First's plea for insolvency. The appellate tribunal directed the aircraft lessors to approach the NCLT with relevant applications to determine the possession of the aircraft.

The lessors had challenged the NCLT's order, alleging that Go First was attempting to utilize the insolvency process to retain assets it did not own.

On May 10, the principal bench of the NCLT in Delhi accepted Go First's voluntary plea to initiate an insolvency resolution process. The tribunal appointed an IRP, suspended the board, and imposed a moratorium on the airline's financial obligations.