Delhi HC upholds Rs 144.5 cr deposit order on SpiceJet

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed review petitions filed by budget airline SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh, upholding an earlier order for them to deposit approximately Rs 144.5 crore in a long-standing arbitration dispute with media baron Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways Pvt Ltd. Justice Subramonium Prasad also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the airline and Singh, directing payment to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund within four weeks, and ordered immediate steps to deposit the full amount of Rs 144,51,69,887 with the court registry.

The ruling stems from a January 19 order requiring the deposit within six weeks against an admitted liability of Rs 194 crore, following adjustments for prior payments. The deadline was extended by four weeks on March 18, but SpiceJet sought reconsideration, citing severe financial distress exacerbated by the ongoing West Asia conflict, rising aviation turbine fuel prices, and liquidity constraints. The airline warned that the cash outflow could jeopardize operations, affecting thousands of passengers and employees, and proposed substituting the payment with an unencumbered commercial property in Gurugram valued at around...