SpiceJet seeks ₹450 cr refund from Kalanithi Maran after Delhi high court ruling

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₹450 crore from its former promoter Kalanithi Maran, and his firm, KAL Airways, the company said on Wednesday. This follows a Delhi high court order on 17 May that overturned an earlier judgment upholding an arbitral award in Maran's favor. SpiceJet said it will seek the return of ₹450 crores out of the ₹730 crores it paid to KAL Airways and Maran.

This includes ₹580 crore in principal and ₹150 crore in interest. "The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court ruled on May 17 in favor of SpiceJet and its promoter, Ajay Singh, in the long-standing share transfer case against former promoter Kalanithi Maran and his firm, KAL Airways," SpiceJet said in a statement. “This ruling overturns a previous decision by a single-judge bench, positioning SpiceJet to claim a substantial refund based on legal advice." Justices Yashwant Varma and Ravinder Dudeja passed the order on a plea filed by SpiceJet's chairman and managing director (CMD), Ajay Singh, and the airline, challenging a single-judge order from July 2023 that had affirmed the arbitral award.

SpiceJet and Ajay Singh had challenged many portions of the award, including the direction to refund ₹270 crores to KAL Airways and Maran and the imposition of 12% interest on warrants and 18% interest on the awarded amount. They argued that these portions of the award were unjustified and sought their annulment. The division bench found that the single judge had erred in dismissing the Section 34 petitions of Ajay Singh and SpiceJet without due consideration of claims of patent illegality and admitted breaches by KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran.