NCLT Bengaluru Dismisses Kingfisher Employees' Plea For Salary Dues, Says Karnataka High Court Is Proper Forum

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Bengaluru has dismissed an application filed by former employees of Kingfisher Airlines seeking disbursement of their admitted salary dues, holding that the Karnataka High Court, which is supervising the winding-up proceedings, is the appropriate forum.

A coram of Judicial Member Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Radhakrishna Sreepada passed the order.

78 former pilots and staff of Kingfisher Airlines Limited filed an application before the NCLT seeking disbursement of their outstanding salary dues and allowances, along with interest.

The employees contended that despite their claims being quantified by the official liquidator, no payment was made, even though recoveries had been effected from the company's assets.

The dues arose from non-payment of salaries and service benefits during the airline's final phase before it was wound up on 18.11.2016. The official liquidator, appointed in 2019, had finalized the claims but disallowed certain claims, including interest. Aggrieved by non-payment, the employees made representations and issued a legal notice, which yielded no result.

Earlier, some employees had approached the Delhi High Court and later the NCLAT, but were directed to approach the appropriate forum. Subsequently, the present application was filed along with a plea for condonation of delay.

The Tribunal noted that a winding up petition was filed against the company in 2012 before the Karnataka High Court and it was directed to be wound up in 2016.

“On the constitution of National Company Law Tribunal, while various Petitions were transferred by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka to this Tribunal as provided under Companies (transfer of pending proceedings) Rules, 2016, the aforesaid winding up Petition was retained in consonance with Rule 5 thereof.” it noted

It further observed that though the application is framed as an independent proceeding, it essentially seeks disbursement of amounts already finalized by the official liquidator in the winding-up proceedings before the High Court.

“When the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka is already seized of the matter and has been supervising inter-alia the disbursement of the proceeds recovered from the assets of liquidated Company etc., the Applicants have manifestly chosen a wrong forum, for the third time, for enforcement of their claims even when the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi had directed the Petitioners in its Order dated 08.07.2025 to approach concerned Official Liquidator and/or supervising Court for appropriate directions for release of admitted employment dues.” it held

Accordingly, the Tribunal dismissed the application and granted liberty to the employees to approach the appropriate court.

For Petitioner: Chaithanya Agarwal