 "Pay Rs 100 crore to Kalanithi Maran by September 10: HC to Ajay Singh")
Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh has challenged the single judge order of the Delhi High Court that upheld the arbitral award in favour of Sun Group Chairman Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways.
A Division Bench led by Justice Yashwant Varma stated that the matter will be heard on August 24 (Thursday).
On July 31, the Delhi High Court refused to set aside the arbitral award in favour of Kalanithi Maran and against SpiceJet, paving the way for Maran to press for enforcement of the award.
Ajay Singh had sought to set aside the portion of the award that directed them to refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran.
On May 29, the high court ordered SpiceJet to pay approximately Rs 380 crore to its former promoter Maran and asked the airline to submit an affidavit of assets within four weeks.
Justice Yogesh Khanna of Delhi High Court issued the order on the execution petition filed by Kal Airways. The order rejected the claims of SpiceJet and directed the airline to pay the entire arbitral award to Kal Airways.
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Kal Airways argued that SpiceJet failed to comply with the high court's order of November 4, 2020, by not filing the affidavit of assets. Furthermore, SpiceJet was directed to pay around Rs 242 crore within three weeks from September 2, 2020.
SpiceJet sought to modify the order, but its application was dismissed. Subsequently, the airline challenged these orders before the Supreme Court. On February 13, 2023, the Supreme Court directed SpiceJet to encash the bank guarantee and pay the specified amount directly to Kal Airways.
In addition to this, SpiceJet was required to pay an additional sum of approximately Rs 75 crore to Kal Airways within three months, to cover interest liability.
The Supreme Court also stated that if SpiceJet failed to pay, then the entire award (approximately Rs 380 crore) would become executable in its entirety in favour of Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran.
Kal Airways and Maran moved the Delhi High Court on August 9, seeking 50 per cent of the daily revenue collection of low-cost carrier SpiceJet to be paid to them on a weekly basis. The amount due from SpiceJet to Maran as of August 3 is Rs 393 crore.
The court issued a notice to the airline and its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh, instructing them to file an affidavit disclosing their assets and revenue collection within a week. The court also ordered Ajay Singh to be present before the court on August 24.
Previously, the Delhi High Court had instructed Singh to be present in court during the next hearing on September 5. However, Justice Yogesh Khanna advanced the date of the hearing to August 24, citing the "wilful default and lackadaisical attitude of SpiceJet and Ajay Singh". This decision was made in response to an application by Kal Airways and Maran for an urgent hearing of its enforcement petition.