The Delhi High Court on Friday overturned an order of a
single-judge bench, which had upheld an arbitration panel's direction asking
SpiceJet to refund over Rs 270 crore to its former promoter Kalanithi Maran.
A division bench of justices Yashwant Varma and Ravinder Dudeja,
while allowing the appeal filed by low cost carrier’s Chairman and Managing
Director (CMD) Ajay Singh, said, “Appeal stands allowed. Consequently, the July
31, 2023 order is set aside."
Singh
had challenged the earlier order that had upheld the arbitral award in favour
of Maran and sought to set aside the portion of the award that directed them to
refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Maran.
He also challenged 18 per cent interest which the tribunal had
directed SpiceJet to pay and waiver of 12 per cent interest on warrants.
On July 31, the Delhi High Court single judge bench had refused
to set aside the arbitral award in favour of Kalanithi Maran and against
SpiceJet, paving the way for Maran to press for enforcement of the award.
“There
is nothing in the impugned award to suggest that it suffers from patent
illegality and the findings therein are perverse and will shock the conscience
of this court. In the instant case, the petitioners have not been able to prove
that the impugned Arbitral Award is patently illegal, against public policy of
India or fundamental policy of law and thus have failed to make out a case for
the award to be set aside,” the court had said in July.