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Informist, Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – SpiceJet Ltd. and its co-founder Ajay Singh on Tuesday said the airline would collapse if the Delhi High Court forces them to deposit INR 1.45 billion immediately in an arbitration dispute with Sun Group Founder Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways Pvt. Ltd. Amid the recent West Asia crisis, flight operations have been severely impacted, and as one of India's smaller airlines, SpiceJet's operations would be jeopardised if the court's order is enforced, they said.

 

SpiceJet and Singh said they were ready to deposit the title deed of immovable property at Udyog Vihar, Gurugram, Haryana, instead of depositing INR 1.45 billion. They have also appointed an entity to sell the Udyog Vihar property and need at least six months to sell it, said the petitioners, seeking more time to deposit INR 1.45 billion.

 

Maran and Kal Airways termed the petitioners' review plea seeking to submit the title deed as "misconceived". There is no error apparent on the face of the court's Mar. 18 order rejecting the petition to submit the title deed, Maran and KAL Airways said. The high court will now hear the plea next on Wednesday.

 

The case dates back to February 2015, when Maran and KAL Airways transferred their entire 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to Ajay Singh. Maran later moved the high court, accusing SpiceJet and Singh of breaching their agreement by failing to issue him 189 million share warrants and preference shares. KAL Airways is controlled by Maran. After a dispute between the parties, the high court referred the matter to an arbitral tribunal.

 

In 2018, an arbitral tribunal rejected Maran and KAL Airways' claim for damages of INR 13.23 billion against SpiceJet for failing to issue warrants to the petitioners. However, the arbitral tribunal awarded a refund of INR 5.79 billion, with interest, to be paid by SpiceJet to Maran and KAL Airways. Thereafter, both parties moved the Delhi High Court's single-judge bench, which upheld the award in 2023. When the case reached the division bench, it found merit in SpiceJet's contention and remanded the matter to the single-judge bench for fresh consideration.

 

In January, the high court said that in 2023, the Supreme Court had asked SpiceJet to encash its bank guarantee and pay it to Maran and KAL Airways against the principal sum of the 2018 arbitral award and INR 750 million for the remaining interest. However, SpiceJet had failed to fulfil its obligation to pay INR 1.45 billion, even after three years of the top court's order, the high court said. 

 

Monday, shares of SpiceJet ended 4.6% higher at INR 12.83 on the BSE.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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