Jet Airways' bankruptcy process begins, stock soars 150%

Jet Airways Thursday became the first domestic airliner to go into bankruptcy as the NCLT admitted an insolvency petition filed by State Bank on behalf of 26 lenders, sending its share price soaring a whopping 150 percent after having plumbed life-lows for many days.

While SBI made a claim of Rs 967 crore from the once largest airline (Rs 505 crore in working capital loans, and an overdraft of Rs 462 crore; apart from a term loan of Rs 1,292 crore), it owes over Rs 8,500 crore to 25 other financial creditors and over Rs 13,000 crore to hundreds of vendors and the 23,000-odd employees.

The airline formally stopped flying on April 17 after being on the verge since late last year and banks voted for bankruptcy on June 17.

The NCLT tribunal comprising VP Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy set a 90-day deadline to the resolution professional--Ashish Chhauchharia of Grant Thornton to conclude the resolution process, even though the bankruptcy law allows 180 days for the same, saying "the matter is of national importance."