Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Jet Airways Founder Naresh Goyal In ED Case

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Previously, the Bombay High Court had granted a temporary bail to Goyal on medical grounds, which has now been finalised, but the conditions of the bail remain unknown until a final order is uploaded.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Goyal last year as part of an investigation into money laundering involving a Rs 538 crore loan advanced by Canara Bank to the airline. He was serving judicial custody at Arthur Road Jail.

The Central Bureau of Investigation's FIR against Jet Airways, Goyal, and his wife Anita in a fraud case on a complaint from Canara Bank serves as the foundation for the ED case.

Goyal used the majority of the loan given to airlines—Rs 538 crore out of Rs 849 crore—for his personal expenses, according to the complaint. The loan was later declared non-performing in 2019. The ED filed its chargesheet against Goyal and others before the special court in Mumbai last week.

Last week, the Supreme Court had ordered Jet Airways to enter liquidation, directing the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal to appoint a liquidator.

The court criticised the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium for failing to implement the airline's resolution plan, noting that adjustments of a Rs 150 crore performance bank guarantee by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal violated the plan and the court’s previous orders.

Stressing the importance of adhering to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code’s timelines, the Supreme Court stated the resolution plan is "incapable of being implemented." The consortium’s Rs 200 crore deposit is now forfeited, and the State Bank of India’s appeal has been upheld.

The airline had gone into insolvency after facing funding issues in 2019. The resolution plan submitted by the consortium of Murari Lal Jalan—a non-resident Indian—and Florian Fritsch of Kalrock Capital Partners Ltd. was approved two years later, in June 2021.