The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed SpiceJet’s plea seeking more time to deposit ₹144.51 crore in its dispute with Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways.
A bench of Justice Vinod Kumar said that repeated extensions could not be granted, as the airline had failed to honour its undertaking to deposit ₹50 crore within 45 days, as part of its commitment to pay the outstanding amount in instalments.
The court observed that it could have considered allowing the airline to furnish property documents as security for the outstanding amount had it deposited the initial ₹50 crore as promised.
“This court would have taken a lenient view in respect of time limit of second instalment, had petitioner complied with their own undertaking of depositing ₹50 crores with registrar general within 45 days,” the court said, adding, “In such a situation, repeated extension cannot be granted.”
The court also rejected proposal to furnish documents of a Gurugram property as security.
It noted that the proposal had previously been rejected in an order dated 18 February 2026, when the property was under mortgage. Although the property was now stated to be unencumbered, the court said its primary concern was the airline’s failure to honour its undertaking to deposit ₹50 crore.
The written order was not available till press time. The enforcement applications in the dispute will be heard on 3 November.
On 13 July, had undertaken to deposit ₹50 crore with the court registry within 45 days and the remaining ₹94.51 crore within 90 days.
The airline had relied on the Centre’s emergency credit support programme for airlines amid the West Asia conflict and rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices to meet its payment obligations.
In August, sought more time from the Delhi High Court to deposit the first ₹50 crore instalment towards the ₹144.51 crore it owes Maran and KAL Airways in the long-running dispute. The cash-strapped airline had said it received the first tranche of emergency credit support from the government in June and used the funds for its operations, while the second tranche of around ₹349 crore was yet to materialise.
The latest development is part of a series of legal proceedings over SpiceJet’s outstanding liability to Maran and KAL Airways.
How it started
The dispute dates back to 2015, when Maran and KAL Airways transferred their 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to promoter Ajay Singh during a period of severe financial stress at the airline.
As part of the transaction, Maran had infused around ₹679 crore into SpiceJet through convertible warrants and preference shares. Maran subsequently alleged that the new management failed to issue the securities, leading to arbitration proceedings.
In July 2018, the arbitral tribunal directed SpiceJet to refund ₹579 crore along with interest. The dispute subsequently went through multiple rounds of litigation before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court directed the encashment of a ₹270 crore bank guarantee and ordered SpiceJet to pay ₹75 crore towards interest, warning that non-compliance would make the arbitral award executable. SpiceJet has said it has already paid around ₹729 crore towards the award, including interest.
Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court recorded ₹194.51 crore as outstanding and, after adjusting ₹50 crore already deposited, directed SpiceJet and Ajay Singh to deposit ₹144.51 crore. The airline’s attempts to replace the cash deposit with a Gurugram property were rejected, prompting it to approach the Supreme Court citing financial stress and the West Asia crisis.
The Supreme Court subsequently allowed SpiceJet to return to the Delhi High Court in light of subsequent developments, including the West Asia crisis and government support measures for airlines. SpiceJet then agreed to pay the outstanding amount in phases, relying on government credit support.
An email query sent to SpiceJet seeking its response remained unanswered till press time.