The Supreme Court directed SpiceJet Ltd. on Monday to pay $1.25 million to Credit Suisse AG before March 15 in order to clear out its arrears before the next date of hearing.
Appearing for Credit Suisse, senior advocate Siddhartha Dave told a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah that as of Feb. 15, the budget carrier was in default of $1.25 million.
"We're giving you a long rope, don't take any risks in this matter," the apex court told SpiceJet.
The $1.25-million amount in arrears was disputed by SpiceJet on the ground that the dues have been paid, though belatedly. "There is no scope of any belated payment in this case. Therefore, Credit Suisse is justified in saying that the amounts have not been paid," the bench said.
Referring to last week's reports that SpiceJet is submitting a bid for GoAir's revival, the top court questioned why, even after having such a cushion, the payments were not being made.
It directed SpiceJet Chairperson Ajay Singh to be present before the court on the next date of hearing in the third week of March.
During the last hearing in September, the court ordered the airline to deposit $500,000 towards its monthly obligations and an additional $500,000 every month for the next six months to clear out its arrears. In effect, SpiceJet was directed to pay $1 million every month for the next six months. At the time, the outstanding arrears stood at $3 million.
The dispute emanates from an aircraft maintenance agreement that SpiceJet entered into with Switzerland-based SR Technics in 2011. Later, SR Technics signed a financing agreement with Credit Suisse. This gave Credit Suisse the right to get paid for invoices raised against SpiceJet for maintenance and repair of the aircraft.
In December 2021, the Madras High Court ordered the winding up of SpiceJet on the grounds that it failed to clear debt owed to Credit Suisse. This led to the matter landing in the top court, where both sides finally agreed to settle the dispute through a court-approved settlement.
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