 "SpiceJet pays Rs 100 crore to Kal Airways and Maran towards arbitral award")
SpiceJet on Tuesday paid Kal Airways and its promoter Kalanithi Maran Rs 100 crore out of an order of Rs 380 crore for an arbitral award, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. On Monday, the Delhi High Court had asked the low-cost airline to complete the payment.
"SpiceJet Ltd. has made a payment of Rs 77.5 crore to Kal Airways Private Limited and will complete the payment of Rs 100 crore today by paying Rs 22.5 crore as per the directions of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court," it said.
"SpiceJet acknowledges the legal process and is committed to complying with all court directives and obligations in the Credit Suisse matter and will pay $1.5 million as per the court directive. To date, SpiceJet has already paid $8 million to Credit Suisse as per consent terms," the statement added.
Last month, the court had asked the airline to pay Rs 100 crore to Maran by September 10. The order stated that the court might consider attaching the airline's properties if it fails to make the payment.
On Monday, the Supreme Court asked Ajay Singh-led airline to pay $1.5 million to Credit Suisse and warned of a "drastic action" if it fails. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Maran, had said that Ajay Singh and his airline now owe them close to Rs 397 crore.
He said that in accordance with the court’s orders, Singh and SpiceJet had filed an affidavit of the assets and liabilities. However, it was not in the format prescribed by law and in a sealed cover.
The advocate also sought the attachment of around Rs 200 crore profit of SpiceJet towards Maran’s dues. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for SpiceJet and Ajay Singh, told the court that nobody would benefit if they went into insolvency.
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He also told the court that the airline was struggling financially. “We are struggling to stay afloat,” he had told the judge on August 24.
Ajay Singh had on May 11 said that there was no question of filing for insolvency. “There is absolutely no question of filing for insolvency. We are focused firmly on reviving our grounded fleet,” he said.
Ajay Singh had sought to set aside the portion of the award, which directed SpiceJet to refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran. The high court, on May 29, had ordered SpiceJet to pay Rs 380 crore to its former promoter Maran and asked the airline to submit an affidavit of assets within four weeks.
The HC, on July 31, refused to set aside the arbitral award in favour of Maran and against SpiceJet, making way for Maran to press for enforcement of the award.