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Informist, Wednesday, May 13, 2026

 

--SpiceJet moves SC to submit title deed instead of money in Maran case 

--CONTEXT: HC asked SpiceJet to deposit INR 1.45 bln in Maran case 

 

By Surya Tripathi

 

NEW DELHI – SpiceJet Ltd. has moved the Supreme Court seeking to submit a title deed of an immovable property with the court's registry instead of depositing INR 1.45 billion in an arbitration dispute with Sun Group Founder Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways Pvt. Ltd. SpiceJet was challenging the Delhi High Court's May 4 and Mar. 18 orders which rejected the airline's request and imposed a cost of INR 50,000 for filing the petitions.

 

Earlier in the day, Maran and KAL Airways had argued that SpiceJet owed over INR 4 billion, including interest, far higher than the INR 1.45 billion figure cited by the cash-strapped airline. Maran and KAL Airways had said the interest was not being calculated properly in SpiceJet's books.

 

SpiceJet said it is facing a liquidity crunch currently as various flights to the Gulf region have been cancelled due to the recent West Asia conflict. "We have suffered losses, have a liquidity issue...," the airline said. On SpiceJet's argument that the immovable property was valued at INR 1.48 billion, Maran and KAL Airways said the property was not unencumbered and mortgaged by the airline on a loan from IDFC FIRST Bank Ltd. 

  

In February 2015, Maran and KAL Airways transferred their entire 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to Co-founder 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. Following the dispute between the parties, the issue was referred to an arbitral tribunal by the high court.

 

In 2018, an arbitral tribunal had rejected Maran and KAL Airways' claim of damages worth INR 13.23 billion against SpiceJet for not issuing warrants to the petitioners. However, the tribunal awarded a refund of INR 5.79 billion, along 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 back to the single-judge bench for fresh consideration.

 

In January, the high court had said that in 2023, the top court had asked SpiceJet to encash its bank guarantee and pay Maran and KAL Airways against the principal sum on a 2018 arbitral award and INR 750 million for the remaining interest. However, SpiceJet had failed to fulfil its obligations three years since the order, the court noted. Upholding the high court's order, the apex court questioned SpiceJet how it would justify not paying the amount ordered by it. The bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe further directed SpiceJet to pay a fine of INR 100,000 for filing the current appeal and not paying the previously ordered amount.

 

At 1232 IST, shares of SpiceJet were up 2.1% at INR 12.93 on the BSE.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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