Mumbai, May 4: Bombay High Court today directed Jet Airways to pay the Sahara group Rs 478 crore within two weeks following a legal tussle over the payment of Rs 1,450 crore for the acquisition of the Lucknow-based group’s airline in April 2007.

Shares of Jet Airways fell 4.70 per cent to Rs 447.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday after news of the court order filtered into the market.

The high court, however, rejected the Sahara group’s petition claiming Rs 2,000 crore as the price for selling the erstwhile Sahara Airlines that has now been renamed Jet Lite instead of the re-negotiated sum of Rs 1,450 crore.

The renegotiated amount was decided by the two airlines after protracted talks. Under the terms of the deal, Jet Airways paid Sahara Rs 900 crore while the rest was to be paid in four instalments.

Soon after, Jet said that the income tax department had raised a demand of Rs 107 crore from Sahara.

Jet contended that since the tax liability pertained to the period before it bought the ailing airline, Sahara should cough up the tax payment.

Sahara declined to pay up the tax since the airline had already been transferred to Jet Airways.

In March 2008, Jet deducted Rs 37 crore on account of this tax liability while paying an instalment to Sahara. Later, in 2009, it withheld another Rs 50 crore.

Sahara’s contention was that the sale agreement between them stipulated that if Jet Airways defaulted on the four instalments, the sale price would revert to Rs 2,000 crore. It moved the courts with this petition after the latter held back the tax liabilities.

Commenting on Bombay High Court’s judgment on Wednesday, Jet Airways said it would pay the remaining Rs 203 crore out of the Rs 478 crore — that includes interest of 9 per cent—to Sahara within two weeks.

It had already deposited Rs 275 crore with the court in instalments.

This sum of Rs 203 crore will include Rs 87 crore that the airline paid to the income tax department and has since been refunded to Jet Airways.

Bombay High Court’s judgment also said Jet Airways would be permitted to sell its assets after its paid Sahara the Rs 478 crore.

Some of the Naresh Goyal-controlled airline’s properties had been attached during the course of the court proceedings. Jet had given an undertaking that it would not sell these till the dispute was settled.

The Jet stock also fell on the NSE today following the court direction. The stock of the private carrier ended the day lower at Rs 446.25 on the NSE.

In intra-day session, the company’s scrip tumbled 6.18 per cent to touch a low of Rs 441 on the NSE.

On the volume front, over 26 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and NSE during the day.