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In his plea Goyal contended that he was only appointed on the board to engage in brand building, hunting for talent and best human resources.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice GS Patel and Justice Neela Gokhale on Thursday granted an interim stay on show cause notice issued by IDBI Bank under RBI's Master Circular on Wilful Defaulter to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal.
The division bench was hearing a plea filed by Naresh Goyal challenging the show cause notice issued to him and his wife by the IDBI Bank declaring them to be will defaulters.
In his plea, Goyal had contended that after a show cause notice was issued by IDBI Bank, Goyal had asked for a list of documents based on which they were declared as wilful defaulters. However the same was not provided and for the same reasons it was argued that it violates principles of natural justice.
The plea also added that the order was in derogation of the intent of the RBI Master Circular.
"The Impugned Orders are in derogation of the intent behind the RBI Master Circular in that under the RBI Master Circular, the decision taken to classify a borrower as a wilful defaulter should be well documented and supported by requisite evidence. In the present case, neither of the Impugned Orders are based on documentary evidence and nor do they contain cogent reasons for declaring Petitioner as wilful defaulter," the plea reads
The petition further highlights that Goyal was appointed as a non-executive director and his role was to engage in brand building, hunting for talent and best human resources for the company and increasing the presence of the company in the international market.
He contended that he was not involved in the day-to-day affairs or executive decisions of Jet Airways and therefore there could be no "wilful default" by him and the impugned orders thus, could not have been passed.
He added that not only because of Goyal's role in the company but also because he had resigned and was no longer associated with the borrower company before the commencement of the wilful default proceedings.
Lastly, the plea argues that Goyal had not taken a loan from IDBI but that 'Jet Airways Limited' had taken a loan from the bank and that the bank could not declare Goyal a wilful defaulter independently without proceedings against the company.
Case title: Naresh Goyal & Anr. Vs IDBI Bank & Ors.
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