Maxis-promoted telecom operator Aircel has not yet paid their February salary to around 6,000 employees, a report in Hindustan Times said.
The ailing mobile service provider has a debt of over Rs 50,000 crore including Rs 15,000 crore due to financial creditors and Rs 35,000 crore to operational creditors. Operational creditors include tower companies, system integrators, IT companies, telecom equipment makers, among others.
Aircel has filed for bankruptcy and approached the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday for the appointment of an interim resolution professional (IRP) seeking urgency in its matters.
Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, who is appearing for Aircel, said there is serious urgency to hear the matter because the telecom company wants to continue essential mobile services.
Aircel has filed for bankruptcy in India because of its financial conditions caused by the entry of Reliance Jio, huge debt, wireless price wars, and legal and telecom regulatory challenges due to competition.
Aircel has requested its suppliers and partners to continue services in order to assist Aircel to continue in providing uninterrupted customer service. Aircel has spectrum in 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands.
Aircel in December 2017 informed TRAI about its plan to stop mobile services in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West) from 31 January.
Aircel on 22 February informed TRAI about financial stress and main issues caused by shutting down of tower service by its partner GTL Infra. TRAI asked Aircel to give more time to its mobile subscribers to shift to other networks.
Reliance Communications, which was trying to buy Aircel, have also gone through a similar financial issue, but got the support of financial institutions and Reliance Jio.
