SpiceJet moves Supreme Court against ₹144.5 crore deposit order in Maran dispute

NEW DELHI: Budget carrier SpiceJet has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order directing the airline to deposit ₹144.5 crore in its long-running dispute with Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways Pvt. Ltd, marking the airline’s latest legal attempt to secure relief amid mounting financial stress.

According to details available on the Supreme Court website reviewed by Mint, SpiceJet filed its plea on 7 May, days after the Delhi High Court dismissed the airline’s review petition and imposed a ₹50,000 cost for repeatedly seeking modification of the deposit order.

The matter is yet to be assigned to a bench or listed for hearing.

An email sent to SpiceJet seeking comment remained unanswered till press time.

In its 4 May judgment, the Delhi High Court directed SpiceJet to immediately comply with an earlier order requiring it to deposit ₹144.51 crore with the court registry.

The airline argued that an immediate cash deposit would severely strain finances and could push the carrier towards collapse, citing the West Asia conflict, suspension of some flight operations and rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices as reasons for its worsening liquidity position.

SpiceJet had also sought permission to furnish a Gurugram commercial property worth about ₹148 crore as security instead of making a cash deposit, arguing that the asset was unencumbered and would take time to monetise.

However, the high court rejected those arguments, observing that the airline could not rely on subsequent geopolitical developments to avoid complying with court orders.

Justice Subramonium Prasad held that the hostilities in West Asia began in February 2026, whereas the Supreme Court had already ruled in July 2023 that the arbitral award would become executable if SpiceJet failed to comply with earlier payment directions.

Calling the repeated pleas “a complete abuse of the process of law,” the high court imposed ₹50,000 in costs on the airline and directed it to immediately deposit the outstanding amount.

The backstory

The dispute dates back to January 2015, when Maran and KAL Airways transferred their 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to Ajay Singh during a period of acute financial distress at the airline. As part of the transaction, Maran infused about ₹679 crore into SpiceJet through convertible warrants and preference shares.

Maran later alleged that the warrants and preference shares were not issued by the new management, triggering arbitration proceedings.

In July 2018, an arbitral tribunal rejected Maran’s claim for more than ₹1,300 crore in damages but directed SpiceJet to refund ₹579 crore along with interest.

The matter has since gone through multiple rounds of litigation before the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court.

In February 2023, the Supreme Court directed encashment of a ₹270 crore bank guarantee and ordered SpiceJet to pay ₹75 crore towards interest, warning that failure to comply would render the arbitral award fully executable.

SpiceJet has maintained that it has already paid about ₹730 crore to Maran and KAL Airways, including principal and interest.

In January this year, the Delhi High Court recorded that ₹194.51 crore remained outstanding under earlier directions. After adjusting ₹50 crore already deposited, the court directed SpiceJet and promoter Ajay Singh to deposit the remaining ₹144.5 crore.