A Hyderabad court on Friday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya and four other officials after they failed to appear before the court in connection with a cheque bounce case filed by the GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL).
The case pertains to a payment of R10.5 crore to GHIAL towards landing, parking and navigation fees. Kingfisher had issued four cheques but they had been dishonoured, according to the complaint. The court has posted the case to November 5 for further hearing.
?The cases were listed today for the airline (officials) to appear in the court. Since they failed to appear before the magistrate, the court has ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya and four other KFA officials. At this stage GHIAL would not like to comment more,? the airport operator said.
Kingfisher said late in the evening that it had not received the court warrant yet. ?We have not been served with any warrant so far,? the airline?s spokesperson said in an e-mail reply.
The cash-strapped airline has been grounded for nearly two weeks after it declared a partial lock-out following a strike by employees who have not been paid salaries for the past seven months. Besides, the airline also has to respond to a notice issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking why its licence should not be cancelled.
The court in Nampally had earlier taken cognizance of the matter and issued summons to the company and five directors, including Mallya, to appear before it on Friday. The advocate for Kingfisher filed an application in the court explaining the non-appearance of the officials and requested the court not to issue the warrant. However, the judge dismissed the plea.
Kingfisher, meanwhile, faces a similar case filed by GMR in connection with dishonoured cheques issued with regard to payments due at the Delhi airport, also operated by GMR. Kingfisher owes Delhi International Airport about R40 crore.
In June, the airline was taken to court by the GVK Group, which operates the Mumbai airport, after three cheques for R5 crore each were dishonoured.
In all, Kingfisher owes the airport over R60 crore for services.
Kingfisher, which has not made a profit since it began operations in 2005, is reeling under a debt burden of over R8,000 crore.
Last week, as the employees strike intensified, the airline was allowed access to Rs 60 crore from its bank accounts, which had been frozen by lenders. The development came after the wife of an unpaid Kingfisher employee committed suicide in their home in Delhi.
