NEW DELHI: In the on-going tussle between current and former promoter of cash starved airline SpiceJet, media baron Kalanithi Maran and his KAL Airways said on Monday that they will seek more than Rs 1,323 crore in damages from SpiceJet and its chief Ajay Singh.
Maran and KAL will also challenge the recent Delhi High Court order. The low cost Low- carrier on May 17 received a major relief as a division bench of the Delhi High Court set aside a single judge’s order that had upheld an arbitral award requiring SpiceJet and Singh to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest to Maran.
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 on Monday.
It said the claim for damages had originally been presented by KAL 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 judgement and the claim for damages, the decree holders hope to secure a just and equitable resolution to the dispute, the statement said.
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 by Maran and KAL comes after Spicejet last week said it will seek a refund of Rs 450 crore out of the total Rs 730 crore paid to Maran and KAL following the Delhi High Court ruling. The dispute arises when Maran and KAL had transferred their 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to Singh for Rs 2 in February 2015. Under the agreement, KAL and Maran were to receive redeemable warrants and preference share in return for `679 crore which they spent on SpiceJet.