Delhi HC grounds Maran's ₹1,323-crore damages claim in SpiceJet dispute

Time of India

26-05-2025

In a breather to cash-strapped
SpiceJet
, the
Delhi High Court
has dismissed an appeal filed by
KAL Airways
and its owner
Kalanithi Maran
seeking ₹1,323 crore damages from the budget airline in a long-standing share transfer dispute.
The court said that the former promoter had engaged in a "calculated gamble" by delaying the filing and re-filing of their appeals.
SpiceJet shares rose 1.96% to ₹44.69 per share on BSE at the close of the market following dismissal of the appeal.
A division bench of justices C Hari Shankar and Ajay Digpaul came down heavily on KAL and Maran for the delay in filing their appeal, suppressing material facts related to their pending applications and for unjustifiably delaying the proceedings.
"The delay in refiling is completely lacking in bona fides and represents a gamble by the unsuccessful litigant (KAL Airways) keeping all, including the successful litigant (SpiceJet), in the dark," the court said. The court also found KAL and Maran's conduct to be lacking in bona fides, amounting to "fence sitting" and deliberate concealment.
The court said that while delay in refiling is generally treated more liberally than delay, this approach cannot be extended where the delay is not bona fide. "Limitation is a statute of equity and repose, and if the delay, whether in filing or refiling, is found to be lacking in bona fides, it has to be sternly dealt with", the bench said, noting a total absence of good faith. "The case presents a classic example of fence sitting, keeping, in the process, the respondents (Spicejet), the division bench of this court, as well as the Supreme Court, completely in the dark regarding the filing of the present FAOs, and of their languishing under objections," the court said.
On July 20, 2018, the arbitral tribunal had rejected Maran's claim of damages of ₹1,323 crore for not issuing warrants to him and KAL Airways but awarded him a refund of ₹579 crore with interest.
Both sides challenged the arbitral award and the petitions were dismissed by a single judge of the Delhi High Court in July 2023.
SpiceJet and its chairman Ajay Singh promptly appealed against the dismissal within the statutory 60-day period. Their appeals were heard and in May last year, the division bench found merit in SpiceJet's contentions and remanded the matter back to the single judge for fresh consideration.
Following this, KAL Airways and Maran appealed to the single-judge bench seeking the same amount in damages, which was also rejected by the court. Even the appeals were filed after 55 days of delay and also failed to cure procedural defects for another 226 days.
The case relates to a share transfer dispute between SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh and Maran and his KAL Airways. In February 2015, Maran and KAL Airways transferred their entire 58.46% stake in the airline to Singh. In 2017, Maran and KAL Airways moved the high court demanding that 180 million warrants redeemable as equity shares be transferred to them. The court, on July 29, 2016, asked both parties to settle the share transfer dispute under arbitration.