NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday junked pleas filed by SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh seeking a review of an earlier order asking the airline to deposit `144 crore in connection with its legal dispute with media baron Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways.
Justice Subramonium Prasad also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the airline & Singh and directed them to take immediate steps to deposit the amount of Rs 144 crore with the registry.
In its January 19 order, the court had directed the airline and Singh to deposit `144 crore with the registry within six weeks against an admitted liability of `194 crore. However, the deadline to make the deposit was later extended by four weeks on March 18.
The petitioners had sought reconsideration of the March 18 direction, citing financial distress amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Instead of money, the airline offered a commercial property in Gurugram as security.
However, Maran and Kal Airways had opposed the petitions, saying the issues arising from financial distress had already been considered and rejected by the Supreme Court.
The matter arises from a dispute regarding the non-issuance of warrants in favour of Maran following the transfer of SpiceJet’s ownership to Singh, the controlling shareholder of the airline.
The dispute started after Singh took back control of SpiceJet in February 2015 amid a financial crisis at the airline.
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