Delhi High Court Rejects SpiceJet Plea for Payment Extension

The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by SpiceJet seeking additional time to deposit 144.51 crore owed to Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways. Justice Vinod Kumar rejected the request and a proposal to use a Gurugram property as security, ruling that the airline failed to honor its own undertaking to deposit an initial 50 crore within 45 days.

The dispute originates from a 2015 stake transfer and a 2018 arbitral tribunal order requiring SpiceJet to refund 579 crore plus interest. The court noted that repeated extensions cannot be granted when a petitioner fails to comply with their own commitments.

SpiceJet attributed its payment failure to financial stress caused by the West Asia conflict and rising aviation turbine fuel prices. The airline is currently facing severe operational challenges, including a domestic market share drop to 1.2% and a strike by approximately 40 Q400 pilots over unpaid salaries. Despite these struggles, the airline recently received 150 crore through the government's Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme. Enforcement applications regarding the dispute are scheduled for hearing on November 3.