The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider a joint request for mediation between low-cost airline SpiceJet and media baron Kalanithi Maran and his KAL Airways.
Kal Airways and Ajay Singh-promoted SpiceJet are locked in a bitter dispute over the failure of SpiceJet to issue certain warrants and non-convertible redeemable cumulative preference shares (CRPS) when Maran sold his 58.46 per cent stake in the airline to Ajay Singh in 2015.
SpiceJet reportedly owes Rs 920 cr to KAL Airways owned by Maran after the latter turned down the Rs 600-crore full and final settlement offer made by the beleaguered air carrier. A bench under Chief Justice N.V.Ramana after briefly hearing senior advocate Vikas Singh for Maran and former attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi for SpiceJet indicated it would refer the matter to the recently set up International Arbitration Centre at Hyderabad as both the parties were willing to go for arbitration.
Though Rohatgi initially suggested the names of former Supreme Court judges Justice R.V.Raveendran or Justice Kurien Joseph, Singh took exception saying the names of the mediators should not be suggested by the parties.
Instead, he said, both the parties can refer the matter for mediation before the Hyderabad Mediation Centre. Rohatgi said he had no objection. Both the groups left the choice of mediation centre to the bench. Justice Ramana heading the bench said the court would pass appropriate orders on the issue.
KAL Airways had earlier informed the court that the Rs 600 cr offer made by SpiceJet was not acceptable as the actual dues were Rs 920 crore.
SpiceJet told the court it was willing to pay Rs 600 crore towards full and final settlement of all pending disputes between the two groups. But the offer has been rejected by KAL. Meanwhile, SpiceJet has entered into a settlement with aircraft lessor Goshawk Aviation and its affiliated entities related to two Boeing 737 Max aircraft and one Boeing 737- 800 NG aircraft. The settlement will allow the induction of two “more fuel-efficient Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into the SpiceJet fleet”, it said in a statement.
