SpiceJet Crisis: Supreme Court Upholds Delhi High Court’s Decision To Ground Leased Engines
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the order of the Delhi High Court that directed the low-cost airline to ground three engines leased to it by French lessors.
The dispute stems from the non-payment of dues owed to the lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, who had leased the engines to SpiceJet. As per court filings, the French companies claim that SpiceJet has outstanding unpaid dues exceeding $20 million, accumulated over more than two years.
The lessors filed the case against the airline in December last year, demanding payment and repossession of the leased engines.
Earlier this month, a division bench of the Delhi High Court declined to quash a single judge's order that grounded three engines leased to the airline by the two France-based lessors. Although the court refused to interfere with the single judge's order, it suggested that SpiceJet consider settling the matter with the lessors.
When the single judge delivered its judgment in August this year, it categorically stated that the inability of SpiceJet to pay the admitted outstanding dues is writ large on the face of the record, and permitting the airline to continue the use of engines without payment would only cause financial distress to the lessors. As per the high court's order, the airline has 15 days to return possession of the leased engines.
During the hearing before the top court today, SpiceJet said that it is in talks with the lessors and is ready to make payments. "Parties have met in Singapore, they are in talks, they (lessors) invited us to Singapore for the settlement talks," SpiceJet said.
The airline also informed the court that two out of the three leased engines are already grounded and not being used to fly. However, a specialised stand is required to hand them back to the lessors, and it will take at least a month to arrange for the said stand, SpiceJet said.
The top court stated that the parties can continue discussions over the weekend and return with updates on their talks.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
