Hc To Hear Winding-Up Pleas Against Modiluft On July 17
In a significant development, the Delhi High Court has decided to take up two cases relating to winding up petitions against domestic airline ModiLuft on July 17. Three more winding up petitions filed by aggrieved parties are expected to be heard on the same day.
Winding up petitions against ModiLuft were filed by Slaughter & May, a UK firm of solicitors, and Ireland-based Parc Aviation. While Slaughter & May has claims of $44,000 against the airline, Parc Aviation has claims of $75,000.
The high court has already issued a notice to ModiLuft to file its reply in the winding up petitions before July 17.
In the case concerning Slaughter & May, ModiLuft had hired the UK firm to prepare documents relating to lease agreements and various other ancillary documentation for three Boeing 737-400s on various dates.
Subsequently, bills were made out for services rendered to the airline and on November 1, 1995, ModiLuft wrote to the UK-based company that the Reserve Bank of Indias clearance for a sum of 39,260 pounds was awaited.
However, on July 15, 1996, the solicitor firm obtained a decree from a British court for an amount of 41,535 pounds, with an interest of 8.58 per cent per day, till the date of payment.
On November 20, 1996, ModiLuft sought more time to reply. Subsequently, an Indian law firm on behalf of Slaughter & May served a notice against the domestic airline claiming the amount.
On December 18, 1996, ModiLuft, in a communication to the Indian law firm, stated that the amount could not be released as financial restructuring was on in the airline.
A notice was issued on May 16, 1997, to ModiLuft and an injunction was also issued on the same day forbidding the airline from disposing of its property. Subsequently, the High Court set July 17 for hearing the winding up petition.
In the other case relating to Parc Aviation, a subsidiary of Aer Lingus Plc, a sum of around $75,000 has been claimed against ModiLuft as dues for hiring pilots and flight engineers from the company.
The Irish-based Parc Aviation has claimed that ModiLuft had hired its services for the supply of a total of 61 pilots and flight engineers between August 18, 1994, and April 14, 1995.
The private airline was charged between $5,000 and $9,820 for each month and an additional $1,075 per month as pre-diam allowances to each of the hired staff.
Parc Aviation claimed that it raised invoices against the company from time to time which were partly paid by ModiLuft. The payments were to be made to Ulster Bank in Dublin.
As ModiLuft did not pay up the entire amount, a meeting between the representatives of the private airline and the agency was arranged at Frankfurt airport in August, 1995.
Parc Aviation has claimed that the representatives of the airline acknowledged the claim and agreed to pay the amount.
In November, 1995, the airlines senior vice-president Bernd Hildenbrand, in a letter to Parc Aviation, stated that the payment was held up as they had to produce a substantial amount of documents to the Income Tax department as well as the Reserve Bank of India.
The Irish firm was assured that the payments would be made as soon as the RBI gave its clearance.
As no payments appeared forthcoming, in December, 1995, Parc Aviation through its lawyers in India sent a notice under Article 434 of the Companys Act seeking winding up of the airline for its failure to pay dues.
Since then, several notices were served on the airline and, subsequently, the high court decided to fix July 17 as the date for hearing the winding up petition.