HC admits plea to wind up KFA

Bangalore: Less than three weeks after admitting a petition to wind up UB Holdings Ltd, the Karnataka High Court has admitted a similar petition against another UB Group company, Kingfisher Airlines, pushing Chairman Vijay Mallya further into a corner in the fight to get him to repay the airline’s massive debt to creditors.
The move also invalidates, albeit temporarily, Mallya’s repeated assurances to the court and the public of a revival plan for the carrier.
On Friday, the court admitted a winding-up petition filed by Aerotron Ltd, a supplier to the cash-strapped airline, claiming dues of $6 million, or about Rs 35 crore.
On November 19, judge Anand Byrareddy admitted a similar petition by BNP Paribas against UB Group’s principal holding company, UB Holdings Ltd, which owed creditors about Rs 600 crore. Hearing the winding-up case against Kingfisher Airlines on Friday, Byrareddy dismissed as evidence a UB Group letter assuring of a potential investor in the airline. Earlier, the court had given Kingfisher Airlines lawyers time till Friday to update it on progress in efforts to revive the airline.
Read News in full 06/12/13 Antonita Madonna/Business Standard