Delhi HC Upheld An Arbitral Tribunal's Order, Directing SpiceJet To Refund Over Rs 270 Crore To Kalanithi Maran

The Delhi High Court upheld an arbitral tribunal's order, directing SpiceJet to refund over ₹270 crore to Kalanithi Maran, the promoter of Sun Group. The HC ruled that SpiceJet failed to prove any illegality in the tribunal's order. Maran's plea for restitution of his 58.46% shareholding in SpiceJet and his claim for damages was also rejected. 

The court clarified that these prayers exceeded the scope of Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, under which both Maran and SpiceJet filed their pleas, and hence, the court did not consider them. 

Maran's only remaining plea was to set aside the part of the order that allowed SpiceJet's counterclaim of ₹100 crores plus interest. This plea was also rejected by Justice Singh. 

The dispute between Maran and SpiceJet originated in January 2015 when Ajay Singh repurchased SpiceJet from Maran, who previously owned the airline. As part of the deal, Maran was supposed to receive redeemable warrants in exchange for his previous investments. However, Maran claimed that he did not receive the warrants or the promised preference shares and suffered damages of nearly ₹1,323 crores. 

The matter was referred to arbitration by the Delhi High Court, and in July 2018, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of Maran, ordering SpiceJet to refund ₹270 crore and pay interest on the amounts due. 

Despite the refund order, the tribunal found no breach of the share sale and purchase agreement between Maran, SpiceJet, and Ajay Singh, rejecting Maran's demands for restitution of his shareholding and damages. 

Following the tribunal's ruling, Maran, his company KAL Airways, SpiceJet, and Ajay Singh filed petitions before the High Court, seeking to challenge the arbitral tribunal's order. Today, the court dismissed all four petitions.