Spicejet insolvency: NCLT defers hearing of plea by Aircastle to June 1

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday deferred the hearing of the insolvency plea filed by aircraft lessor Aircastle against Spicejet to June 1, Moneycontrol reported. Aircastle had filed a plea over unpaid dues for an order amounting to Rs 49 crore.

Earlier this month, NCLT had granted Spicejet a week to reply to the plea by the lessor. A two-member Principal bench of President Ramalingam Sudhakar and Member Avinash K Srivastava had issued a notice to Spicejet on May 8 to file their reply.

Commenting on the case, a Spicejet spokesperson had said, "In the Aircastle issue, notice was issued in the normal course. There was no adverse ruling against SpiceJet. The court has recognised the fact that parties are under settlement discussions and they can continue to pursue the same."

According to the NCLT website, two more petitions for insolvency resolution proceedings against SpiceJet are pending. The plea by Willis Lease Finance Corporation was filed on April 12 and the one by Acres Buildwell Private Ltd was filed on February 4

On May 19, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) deregistered three planes of  SpiceJet at the request of lessors. Out of the three, two were non-operational and its operations had not been affected, SpiceJet said on May 19.