Kal Airways, Kalanithi Maran decline both proposals for settlement offered by SpiceJet, SC told

New Delhi: The Supreme Court was on Monday informed that Kal Airways Private Limited and media baron Kalanithi Maran were not agreeable to two proposals to settle their dispute with SpiceJet on payment of interest in connection with a share transfer issue.

A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli, after being told about the views on the proposals listed the case for hearing the arguments on March 2.

At the outset, the apex court inquired about the view of Kal Airways and Maran whether they were agreeable to the two proposals of SpiceJet to settle the dispute.

In its first offer, SpiceJet proposed that it would pay Rs. 300 crores towards a full and final settlement of the dispute or secondly, out of the Bank Guarantee of Rs 270 Crores deposited with the Delhi High Court, airlines will give Rs 100 crores for now and an order will be passed by the top court asking the High Court to expeditiously decide the case related to the arbitral award.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, who was assisted by Karanjawala and Co, told the top court on behalf of Kal Airways that it is not possible for their clients to consider the offer proposed by Spicejet.

The bench inquired further whether none of the two offers proposed by SpiceJet is acceptable to Kal Airways to which Singh replied in the negative saying that as per the Arbitral Award itself Spicejet has to pay them Rs 920 crores.

The apex court was hearing the appeal of SpiceJet against the November 2, 2020 order of the High Court asking the low-cost airline to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest in connection with a share transfer dispute with its former promoter and media baron Kalanithi Maran and his firm Kal Airways.

On November 7, 2020, the top court had stayed the High Court order asking SpiceJet to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest in connection with the share transfer dispute.

SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh were asked to deposit around Rs 243 crore as interest payable on Rs 579 crore, which the High Court had in 2017 asked SpiceJet to deposit under the 2018 arbitration award in the share transfer dispute. (ANI)