The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain SpiceJet's plea seeking an extension of time to deposit the money it was ordered to pay in connection with a long-running arbitration dispute with Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways.
Justice Vinod Kumar also refused to accept managing director Ajay Singh's Gurgaon property as security since SpiceJet failed to deposit ₹50 crores with the Registrar General of the Court in accordance with an earlier order.
"Had the petitioner [SpiceJet] deposited ₹50 crores, this Court could have entertained the plea of depositing the document of property in Gurgaon as security for permitting the amount of ₹94 crores. However, as the petitioner has not deposited ₹50 crores as per his undertaking, I am not inclined to accept the property as security. Application dismissed," the bench said.
In total, SpiceJet and Ajay Singh are required to deposit ₹144 crores, as per the order passed by the Court on July 13.
The Court noted that on July 13, SpiceJet had undertaken to deposit ₹50 crores with the registry in 45 days and pay the balance of ₹94 crores within 90 days.
Justice Kumar stated that had the deposit of ₹50 crores been made by SpiceJet, the Court would have taken a lenient decision for the second installment.
"This Court could have taken a lenient in respect of time limit of second installment, had the petitioner complied with their own undertaking to deposit ₹50 crores with Registrar General in 45 days. Even this part of undertaking has not been complied with," the bench said.
Thus, the Court rejected SpiceJet's application seeking extension of time to deposit the money.
The next date of hearing in the matter is November 3.
The matter is rooted in a dispute from 2015 when SpiceJet was facing severe financial distress and risked shutting down operations.
Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways were the promoters and majority shareholders of the airline, holding 58.46 percent stake. They entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) with SpiceJet in January 2015. Under this SSPA, Maran and Kal Airways agreed to transfer their entire shareholding to Ajay Singh for a nominal consideration of ₹2.
The transaction was coupled with a broader financial support arrangement involving the issuance of warrants and cumulative redeemable preference shares (CRPS) and an overall funding commitment of about ₹450 crore. Disputes later arose over the performance of reciprocal obligations under the SSPA, leading to arbitration.
In July 2018, a three-member arbitral tribunal directed SpiceJet and Ajay Singh to refund ₹308.21 crore to Maran and KAL Airways, along with interest at 12 percent per annum from November 2015.
Both sides filed challenges under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, while enforcement proceedings were initiated simultaneously.
The enforcement proceedings saw several rounds of litigation before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
The High Court eventually directed SpiceJet to deposit ₹579 crore in interim proceedings. This was modified in appeal to permit a ₹329 crore bank guarantee and a ₹250 crore cash deposit.
In 2019, ₹250 crores were released to the decree holders, and a further ₹58.21 crore was paid from the bank guarantee.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court directed encashment of the bank guarantee and ordered SpiceJet to pay ₹75 crores towards interest within three months, warning that failure to comply would render the award executable in its entirety.
In July 2023, the Court refused to grant further time and held that the award had become executable due to non-compliance.
In January 2026, the Delhi High Court dealt with applications filed by SpiceJet and Ajay Singh seeking a stay on the award.
However the Court recorded that the judgment debtors had themselves admitted in earlier proceedings that ₹194.51 crores remained payable towards interest, of which ₹50 crore had already been deposited.
Accordingly, the Court directed the deposit of the remaining ₹144.51 crore within six weeks. SpiceJet filed the review petition challenging this order.
In February, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by SpiceJet and Ajay Singh challenging this direction to deposit ₹144 crores.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatagi and Amit Sibal along with advocates Goutham Shivshanker, Sasiprabhu, Yasharth Misra, Darpan Sachdeva, Mohammed Ilyas, Parth Rashik and Vidhatri Devoli appeared for SpiceJet and Ajay Singh.
Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta with advocates Nandini Gore (Senior Partner), Sonia Nigam (Associate Partner), Akarsh Sharma, Arjun Singh Gautam from Karanjawala & Co. appeared for Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran.
[Read live coverage]