Sahara accuses Jet of breach of deal; seeks Rs 2,000 crore

Charging Jet Airways with violating the Sahara airline takeover agreement, Sahara Commercial Corporation today told the Bombay High Court that the Naresh Goyal-led airline was liable to pay it Rs 2,000 crore instead of the renegotiated amount of Rs 1,450 crore agreed between them.

Sahara filed an affidavit in reply to Jet’s, saying the takeover price had been brought down to Rs 1,450 crore from Rs 2,000 provided Jet Airways would not default on payment. But it had defaulted and therefore the concession on the takeover deal was not tenable, it said.

The matter was adjourned to April 13 after Jet Airways counsel Janak Dwarkadas sought time to file a rejoinder to Sahara’s application.

Jet bought Sahara Airlines from the Sahara group in April 2007 for Rs 1,450 crore after an arbitration award. It paid Rs 900 crore and agreed to pay the balance in four installments.

Jet’s lawyer, during the previous hearing, had said that in March 2008, the Income Tax Department demanded tax dues of Rs 107 crore from Sahara India Airlines (now called JetLite). According to Jet, this amount was due from the Sahara group as it pertained to the period before the acquisition.

So last March, while paying Sahara the installment of Rs 137 crore, Jet deducted Rs 37 crore against the I-T dues. This year, too, Jet deducted Rs 50 crore on the same account. Dwarkadas said Sahara had now taken a stand that it was not liable to pay the I-T dues.