The Supreme Court, in a recent order, dismissed the petition filed by SpiceJet challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision rejecting the airline’s plea to substitute immovable property in place of depositing Rs. 144 crore under an arbitral award.
A Bench comprising Justice P. S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe observed that it was not inclined to interfere with the order passed by the Delhi High Court.
However, while dismissing the petition, the Supreme Court observed that the High Court may reconsider the plea for substitution afresh in view of the recent developments arising out of the ongoing war situation in West Asia and the delay in availing benefits under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had also dismissed SpiceJet’s challenge against the Delhi High Court order dated January 19, 2026 directing the airline to deposit Rs. 144 crore under the arbitral award passed in favour of Kal Airways Pvt. Ltd. and Kalanithi Maran.
Thereafter, SpiceJet and its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to replace the monetary deposit with immovable property. The plea was rejected on March 18, 2026, and the review petition filed against the said order was also dismissed on May 4, 2026.
The matter pertains to execution proceedings arising out of the arbitral award, which are being heard along with the challenge to the award filed by SpiceJet and Ajay Singh under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.