Jet files civil suit against Subroto Roy
Jet moves Bombay HC against Sahara chief for recovery of Rs 500 crore advance money.
By PTI |
MUMBAI: The legal wrangle between Jet Airways and Air Sahara, following the failed acquisition deal, got further complicated on Friday with Jet moving Bombay High Court against Sahara chief Subroto Roy for recovery of Rs 500 crore advance money.
The date for hearing of this fresh petition has not been fixed as yet.
Jet's lawyer Janak Dwarakadas said, "Since Roy was a personal guarantor for the refund of the advance in case share-purchase agreement was terminated for any reason whatsoever, we are filing a case against him."
"The agreement provided that in the event of acquisition agreement being aborted, Sahara would refund Rs 500 crore within seven days, and Mr Roy had stood a personal guarantor for this purpose," he told media.
Jet, which had transferred Rs 500 crore into an escrow account as an advance against buying 100 per cent stake in Air Sahara, filed an arbitration suit in the Bombay High Court in this matter last week.
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In January this year, Jet had signed an agreement with Air Sahara to acquire the latter for Rs 2,300 crore.However, the deal collapsed this month on the expiry of the Share Purchase Agreement as Jet's chief Naresh Goyal failed to get security clearance from Union Home Ministry by that time.
Jet Airways has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court, claiming that Air Sahara was bound to return Rs 500 crore paid as advance within a week of termination of the pact.
In its application filed before Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jet argued that as per the Share Purchase Agreement, Sahara India had "undertaken, absolutely and unconditionally" to repay the advance amount of Rs 500 crore if the deal failed.
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"This repayment in terms of the undertaking is to be made within seven days from the date of termination or expiry of the SPA without any dispute, demur or delay," Jet said.Besides seeking transfer of the cases initiated by Air Sahara in a Lucknow district court to Bombay High Court, Jet had prayed for a stay on the interim orders of the Lucknow court, which put a freeze on the escrow account opened by Jet Airways, besides preventing sale of Sahara's shares pledged for Rs 500 crore.
Last week, Jet had filed an arbitration petition in the Bombay High Court urging the court to restrain the respondents from issuing notices to escrow agent for claiming Rs 500 crore money given by them as advance for the deal.
Jet Airways contended that they had paid Rs 500 crore on March 29 as advance payment to escrow agent for purchase of Sahara airlines in keeping with an agreement which was subject to conditions precedent. The agreement said that if the conditions were fulfilled by June 21 then the respondents would be entitled to claim Rs 500 crore from the escrow agent.
Jet Airways claimed it was also entitled to close the agreement without giving notice to any party if the conditions were not fulfilled by June 21.
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