In accordance with the Delhi High Court's ruling on May 17, SpiceJet would request a refund of INR 450 Crores from the INR 730 Crores it had previously paid to erstwhile founder Kalanithi Maran and his company, KAL Airways. On May 17, the Delhi High Court's Division Bench rendered a decision in favor of SpiceJet and its promoter, Ajay Singh, in the protracted share transfer dispute with erstwhile promoter Kalanithi Maran and his company, KAL Airways. This verdict reverses an earlier decision made by a bench of one judge, putting SpiceJet in a position to demand a sizable reimbursement based on legal counsel.
A total of INR 730 crore has been paid by SpiceJet, including INR 150 crore in interest payments to Maran and KAL Airways and INR 580 crore in principle payments. SpiceJet will get a refund of INR 450 crore once the contested ruling is set aside.
SpiceJet and Ajay Singh's appeal contested a number of important points pertaining to the refund decision and the case's basis for interest. The Division Bench noted that these challenges had significant merit and that the prior ruling dated July 31, 2023 did not sufficiently address them.
The Division Bench ruled that the Single Judge erred in dismissing Ajay Singh and SpiceJet's Section 34 petitions without giving adequate consideration to the patent illegality claims and the refund order issued against SpiceJet despite KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran's acknowledged violations.
The Court further observed that even though SpiceJet had not broken any terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, interest in the amount of punitive interest had been assessed. Due to the sole judge's failure to take these circumstances into account, Ajay Singh and SpiceJet's appeals were granted, and the contested July 31, 2023 verdict was overturned.
