KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran on Monday said they will seek more than ₹1,323 crore in damages from SpiceJet and its chief Ajay Singh as well as challenge the recent Delhi High Court order in the ongoing dispute between the two sides.
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KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran on Monday said they will seek more than ₹1,323 crore in damages from SpiceJet and its chief Ajay Singh as well as challenge the recent Delhi High Court order in the ongoing dispute between the two sides.

On May 17, a division Bench of the court set aside a single judge Bench order that had upheld an arbitral award asking SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh to refund ₹579 crore plus interest to Mr. Maran.

The Bench allowed the appeals filed by Mr. Singh and SpiceJet challenging the single judge’s order, passed on July 31, 2023, and remanded the matter back to the court concerned to consider the petitions challenging the arbitral award afresh.

Against this backdrop, Mr. Maran and his firm KAL Airways have decided to challenge the ruling after consultation with their legal counsel.

The decree holders — KAL Airways and Mr. Maran — “believe that the aforesaid judgement is deeply flawed and warrants further scrutiny”.

“In parallel, they are also seeking damages in excess of ₹1,323 crore, as determined by FTI Consulting LLP, United Kingdom, a globally renowned firm that specialises in estimation of losses arising out of breach of contractual commitments,” KAL Airways said in a statement on Monday.

Further, it said the claim for damages had originally been presented by KAL Airways and Mr. Maran before the arbitral tribunal and “has always remained an integral part of their quest for justice”.

By pursuing both the challenge to the Delhi High Court judgement and the claim for damages, the decree holders hope to secure a just and equitable resolution to the contentious dispute, the statement said.

The dispute arose due to a breach of trust by SpiceJet and has caused “enormous hardship to both KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran for more than a decade,” it added.

According to the statement, they will pursue the execution of the arbitral award, seeking a refund of the pending dues amounting to ₹353.50 crore.

“This action is also in full compliance with, and supported by, the orders dated February 13, 2023, and July 7, 2023, passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court directing that the award in favour of the decree holders is executed in its entirety,” it said.

On May 22, SpiceJet said it will seek a refund of ₹450 crore out of the total ₹730 crore paid to the airline’s former promoter Mr. Maran and KAL Airways following the Delhi High Court ruling.

The case dates back to early 2015, when Mr. Singh, who owned the airline earlier, bought it back from Mr. Maran after it was grounded for months due to resource crunch.

As part of the agreement, Mr. Maran and KAL Airways had claimed to have paid SpiceJet ₹679 crore for issuing warrants and preference shares.

However, Mr. Maran approached the Delhi High Court in 2017, alleging SpiceJet had not issued convertible warrants and preference shares nor returned the money.

New Delhi:

SpiceJet has completed the payment of Rs 100 crore to Kal Airways Private Limited, the airline confirmed in a statement today. While a payment of Rs 77.5 crore had been made to Kal Airways till September 11, the remaining Rs 22.5 crore was paid on Tuesday.

The Delhi High Court on Monday had directed Spicejet and its chairman and managing director (CMD), Ajay Singh, to make an RTGS transfer before 4 pm on Tuesday while hearing a plea moved by Kal Airways stating that the order passed by the Court was not being complied with.

They had only paid 62.5 crore to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran on September 8 and the amount of 37.5 crore was still remaining, stated the Senior Advocate who appeared for Kal Airways.

Delhi High Court’s Order To SpiceJet

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had ordered Spicejet to pay Rs 100 Crore by September 10.

Maninder Singh, senior advocate, instructed by Nandini Gore. senior partner; Sonia Nigam, principal associate and Yash Dubey, and Akarsh Sharma, associate advocates from Karanjawala & Co; appeared on behalf of Kal Airways Pvt. Ltd. and Kalanithi Maran and Amit Sibal, a senior advocate appeared on behalf of Spicejet Ltd. and Ajay Singh in the matter.

The division bench of the Delhi High Court recently refused to stay a single bench order upholding the arbitral tribunal’s order directing SpiceJet and its chairman and managing director to refund over Rs 270 crore to Sun Group promoter Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways.

Meanwhile, the division bench had issued notice on the appeal challenging the single bench order.

The bench of Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Dharmesh Sharma while issuing a notice to the Sun Group promoter and Kal Airways on appeal while refusing to stay on the order passed by the single judge bench of Justice Chander Dhari Singh on July 31, 2023.

SpiceJet and its CMD had filed an appeal before the division bench of Delhi High Court challenging a single judge’s order directing them to refund over Rs 270 crore to Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways.

The bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh on July 31 while pronouncing the judgment in Section 34 petition moved by the parties, affirmed the Arbitral Award dated 20.07.2018 passed by an Arbitral Tribunal comprising 3 retired Supreme Court Judges in favour of Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran.

The Arbitral Award directed that Decree Holders  — Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran — were entitled to a refund of Rs.308 crores towards the Warrants and a refund of the amount of Rs.270 crores towards Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares (CRPS).

Further, Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran were also awarded an interest of 12 per cent towards Pendente lite and another 18 per cent from the last date of the due date in terms of the Arbitral Award in case the payments, as directed to be made by Spicejet and Ajay Singh, is not made within two months from the date of award.

Spicejet and Ajay Singh had filed section 34 Petitions challenging the Arbitral Award, and the direction of a refund to the tune of Rs 270 crores to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran, and praying that it be set aside.

Spicejet and Ajay Singh had further sought the setting aside of the award seeking a waiver of 12 per cent interest towards warrants as well as setting aside the interest of 18 per cent granted under the award on both warrants and CRPS.

Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran also filed Section 34 Petition seeking setting aside of award to the extent no interest was granted on the amount of Rs 270 crores, as well as damages for non-issuance of Warrants and CRPS.