The Supreme Court on Friday rejected SpiceJet's plea in connection with a share transfer dispute with its previous owner Kalanithi Maran.
The apex court directed the airline to pay Rs 579 crore. The Delhi High Court had earlier this month directed the budget-carrier to deposit Rs 579 crore in connection with the share transfer dispute. The Delhi High Court had asked SpiceJet to deposit Rs 250 crore in cash by August 31. SpiceJet had challenged the High Court's order in the Supreme Court.
In their suit, Maran and his airline had sought issuance of stock warrants in SpiceJet to them as per a sale purchase agreement (SPA) of 2015 which led to transfer of ownership of the budget-carrier to Singh.
The carrier was in a bad shape when SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh took over in 2014. It did not have enough cash to pay the lessors, oil companies and employees. When Maran exited the company by selling his 58.46 per cent stake, he gave around Rs 350 crore to the carrier to pay some of the dues. In return, a contract - a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) - was signed between Singh and Maran that has been a bone of contention. According to the terms of the contract, Maran was entitled to get 18.91 crore warrants worth Rs 309 crore and non-convertible cumulative redeemable preferential shares worth Rs 370 crore.
SpiceJet had said it could not issue warrants to Maran as objections were raised by the Bombay Stock Exchange on SPA terms. Subsequently, Maran approached Delhi High Court, which ruled in his favour asking SpiceJet to deposit Rs 579 crore in the form of bank guarantees and cash deposits by August 31.
SpiceJet, which came close to a shutdown, is the fourth largest airline in terms of market share. The low-cost carrier has seen a turnaround over the past three years, registering a net profit of Rs 427.22 crore in 2016/17.