 "SpiceJet and its on-ground turbulence involving Ajay Singh, KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran: A timeline")
The SpiceJet Maran case revolves around a legal conflict between Kalanithi Maran, the former proprietor of SpiceJet, and the airline itself. Maran, via his company Sun Group, acquired SpiceJet, a low-cost carrier, in 2010. However, in 2015, Maran sold his complete ownership in the airline to Ajay Singh, one of its co-founders.
Following the sale, a disagreement emerged between Maran and SpiceJet concerning certain outstanding payments that Maran alleged were owed to him. He claimed that Singh and SpiceJet owed him over Rs 690 crore (approximately $100 million) according to a share purchase agreement tied to the airline’s sale. The discord began in 2015 when Singh repurchased the airline from Maran after it faced months of grounding due to financial constraints. In the transaction, both KAL Airways and Maran asserted to have paid SpiceJet Rs 679 crore for issuing warrants and preference shares.
This dispute evolved into a legal confrontation with Maran initiating legal proceedings against SpiceJet and its executives in various courts including the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. Maran aimed to enforce an arbitration award favouring him contending that SpiceJet failed to fulfill its obligations under the share purchase agreement.
The case garnered considerable attention due to its substantial financial implications and the intricate legal issues involved. It also sparked discussions about corporate governance and contractual responsibilities within India’s business domain. Here’s a timeline of the case:
28 May 2024: SpiceJet has refuted the claims made by KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran for damages exceeding Rs 1,323 crore asserting that they lack legal basis.
27 May 2024: KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran have announced their intention to pursue damages exceeding Rs 1,323 crore from SpiceJet and its CEO Ajay Singh.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts17 May 2024: The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court overturned a single-judge order directing SpiceJet to reimburse over Rs270 crore to Kalanithi Maran, the promoter of Sun Group.
24 August 2023: The Delhi High Court instructed SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh to pay Rs 100 crore to Kalanithi Maran by 10 September. The high court dismissed SpiceJet’s plea for a stay on the order affirming the Rs 270 crore arbitral award in favour of Kalanithi Maran.
23 August 2023: SpiceJet and Ajay Singh filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the directive mandating them to pay over Rs 270 crore to Kalanithi Maran.
31 July 2023: The Delhi High Court upheld the arbitral tribunal’s award and dismissed appeals by SpiceJet and Maran.
7 July 2023: The Supreme Court declined further extensions to SpiceJet and ordered the airline to remit the entire arbitral sum of Rs380 crore to former promoter Maran.
1 June 2023: The Delhi High Court directed SpiceJet to remit Rs380 crore to former promoter and Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran.
13 February 2023: The Supreme Court ordered the immediate encashment of SpiceJet’s Rs270 crore bank guarantee, which was part of the arbitral award owed to Maran and KAL Airways. The apex court also mandated SpiceJet to pay Rs75 crore to Maran and KAL Airways within three months as interest.
7 April 2022: The Delhi High Court granted interim protection from arrest to SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh in a cheating case.
1 April 2022: A Delhi court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh in a cheating case.
11 March 2022: SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh received interim protection from arrest but was instructed to participate in the probe in a cheating case.
7 November 2020: The Supreme Court stayed a Delhi High Court order directing SpiceJet to deposit Rs243 crore in the Kalanithi Maran case.
25 July 2018: An arbitration panel dismissed Maran’s claim for damages of Rs1,323 crore but awarded him a refund of Rs579 crore plus interest.
3 July 2017: The Delhi High Court dismissed an appeal by SpiceJet challenging a single-judge bench’s order to deposit Rs579 crore in a suit filed by former owner Kalanithi Maran.
1 June 2016: The Delhi High Court reserved its order in the share transfer dispute between Kalanithi Maran and SpiceJet.
15 March 2016: The Delhi High Court directed SpiceJet to pass a board resolution transferring shares to Kalanithi Maran.
11 March 2016: Senior Supreme Court advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways, while Paras Kuhad and Sandeep Sethi appeared for SpiceJet before the Delhi High Court.
February 2015: Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways, his investment vehicle, transferred their 58.46 per cent stake in SpiceJet to Singh. As a co-founder of SpiceJet, Singh also assumed the airline’s liabilities of around Rs 1,500 crore.
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