HC upholds arbitral award in favour of Maran
SpiceJet’s Singh had challenged the arbitral award by filing section 34 petition, seeking to set aside the refund of Rs 270 crore granted to Kal Airways and Maran.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld an arbitral award passed by the tribunal comprising three retired Supreme Court judges in the matter of low-cost airline SpiceJet and Kal Airway’s promoter Kalanithi Maran, favouring the latter.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh pronounced the verdict in a section 34 petition filed by the parties in connection with the above mentioned arbitral award dated July 20, 2018, wherein the decree holders - Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran - were awarded a refund of Rs 308 crore towards the warrants, as well as a refund of Rs 270 crore towards Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares (CRPS).
Additionally, they were also awarded an interest of 12 per cent towards ‘pendente lite’ and an interest of 18 per cent from the last due date, in case the payments directed to be made by SpiceJet and its CMD Ajay Singh are not completed within two months from the date of the award.
SpiceJet’s Singh had challenged the arbitral award by filing section 34 petition, seeking to set aside the refund of Rs 270 crore granted to Kal Airways and Maran. Furthermore, they requested the waiver of 12 per cent interest towards warrants and the setting aside of the 18 per cent interest granted under the award for both warrants and CRPS.
On the other hand, Kal Airways and Maran also filed a Section 34 petition, seeking the setting aside of the award to the extent no interest was granted on the amount of Rs 270 crore. They also claimed damages for non-issuance of warrants and CRPS.
The high court on Monday, dismissed the Section 34 petitions filed by the parties. After careful consideration and hearing all arguments, the judge found no valid reason to interfere with the arbitral award.
This judgement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing legal battle between the parties involved, settling the matter in favour of Kal Airways and Maran.
On July 24, the high court issued notice to SpiceJet Ltd and Singh in Kal Airways and Maran’s application seeking urgent hearing of its enforcement petition in a case where the former is to pay approximately Rs 390 crore to it towards its interest liability under the arbitral award.
