Bankruptcy case of Ambani's RCom which owes Rs 50K cr to banks: Next hearing on May 30

Agencies

May 12, 2019

Mumbai, May 12: The National Company Law TribunalThursday allowed Reliance Communications (RCom) to exclude the 357 days spent in litigation and admitted it for insolvency.

With this, RCom, which owes over Rs 50,000 crore to banks, has become the first Anil Ambani group company to be officially declared bankrupt after the NCLT Thursday superseded its board and appointed a new resolution professional to run it and also allow the SBI-led consortium of 31 banks to form a committee of creditors.

At the last hearing, RCom, through the existing resolution professional, had sought 357 days (from May 30, 2018 to April 30, 2019) exclusion in the insolvency process citing the stays it had on the process by the appellate tribunal and the Supreme Court.

The RP sought the exclusion from May 30, 2018 to April 30, 2019 as the initial insolvency proceedings was stayed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and later by the apex court.

A bench comprising VP Singh and R Duraisamy said the matter should proceed in a manner of law and in view of the guidelines, the tribunal grants the exclusion of time for Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom along with RCom.

RCom was in trouble for years forcing it to discontinue operations two years ago. Its effort to stave off bankruptcy by selling spectrum to Reliance Jio got scuttled after legal and government delays for approvals. But it could not meet any of the several publicly made promises to pay back the lenders by monetising real estate and spectrum assets.

Last month company chairman Anil Ambani managed to avoid a contempt of the Supreme Court and a possible jail term after a last-minute bailout by elder brother Mukesh who extended him over Rs 480 crore to pay back vendor Ericsson, which was the first operational creditor to drag it to NCLT.

Ericsson took the company to NCLT in September 2017 for non-payment of over Rs 1,500 crore dues. Finally they agreed for a Rs 550 crore settlement.

Earlier, China Development Bank from which RCom had borrowed over USD 1 billion, had dragged it to NCLT which was settled after giving a portion of its headquarters DAKC in the nearby Navi Mumbai.

On May 3, SBI held a meeting to shortlist an RP after issuing a request for proposal in April for a new RP. RCom's committee of creditors will have to approve a new RP with a 66 percent vote after the NCLT starts the insolvency process.

The Mumbai bench on May 7, also had directed the existing RP to file a progress report by May 30 when it will hear the matter.

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India’s Tougher Pilot Fatigue Rules: Why IndiGo’s Operations Crashed Into Turbulence

News Network

December 6,2025

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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IndiGo offers full waiver on cancellations, reschedule requests for bookings between Dec 5 and 15

News Network

December 6,2025

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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