KAL Airways, Kalanithi Maran to seek `1,323 cr in damages from SpiceJet
“The dispute arose due to a breach of trust by SpiceJet and has caused enormous hardship to both KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran for more than a decade”
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New Delhi: KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran on Monday said they will seek more than Rs 1,323 crore in damages from SpiceJet and its chief Ajay Singh as well as challenge the recent Delhi High Court order in the ongoing dispute between the two sides.
On May 17, a division bench of the court set aside a single judge bench order that had upheld an arbitral award asking SpiceJet and its promoter Ajay Singh to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest to Maran. The bench allowed the appeals filed by Singh and SpiceJet challenging the single judge's order, passed on July 31, 2023, and remanded the matter back to the court concerned to consider the petitions challenging the arbitral award afresh. Against this backdrop, Maran and his firm KAL Airways have decided to challenge the ruling after consultation with their legal counsel. The decree holders -- KAL Airways and Maran -- "believe that the aforesaid judgement is deeply flawed and warrants further scrutiny". "In parallel, they are also seeking damages in excess of Rs 1,323 crore, as determined by FTI Consulting LLP, United Kingdom, a globally renowned firm that specialises in estimation of losses arising out of breach of contractual commitments," KAL Airways said in
a statement. Further, it said the claim for damages had originally been presented by KAL Airways and Maran before the arbitral tribunal and "has always remained an integral part of their quest for justice". By pursuing both the challenge to the Delhi High Court judgment and the claim for damages, the decree holders hope to secure a just and equitable resolution to the contentious dispute, the statement said.
The dispute arose due to a breach of trust by SpiceJet and has caused "enormous hardship to both KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran for more than a decade," it added. According to the statement, they will pursue the execution of the arbitral award, seeking a refund of the pending dues amounting to Rs 353.50 crore. "This action is also in full compliance with, and supported by, the orders dated February 13, 2023, and July 7, 2023, passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court directing that the award in favour of the decree holders is executed in its entirety," it said.
