West Asia Hostilities No Ground: Delhi HC Dismisses SpiceJet Review Plea Against ₹144.51 Crore Deposit Order

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed review petitions filed by SpiceJet Ltd and its promoter Ajay Singh, refusing to modify its March 18, 2026 order and grant further time, thereby requiring compliance with directions to deposit ₹144.51 crore in an arbitration dispute with Kal Airways Pvt. Ltd.

Justice Subramonium Prasad held that subsequent developments such as the outbreak of hostilities in West Asia cannot be used to avoid compliance with binding judicial directions or as a ground for review.

“The hostilities which broke out in February-March, 2026 cannot be used to the advantage of the Review Petitioners and at the cost of repetition, it is made clear that this Court was not prepared to accept the offer given by the Review Petitioners for deposit of the title deeds of the Spicejet‟s Property in lieu of the arbitral amount as in the opinion of this Court, the said offer could not be a proper compliance of the Orders of the Apex Court.”

The court found that no ground for review was made out and dismissed the petitions with costs of Rs 50,000.

“This Court is, therefore, inclined to dismiss the present Review Petitions with a cost of INR 50,000/-, to be deposited by the Review Petitioners with the Armed Forces Battle Casualties' Welfare Fund (AFBCWF) within four weeks from today. This Court is also not inclined to modify the Impugned Order dated 18.03.2026 by granting any enlargement of time to the Review Petitioners to deposit the amount.”

The dispute arises from a 2015 share sale transaction between SpiceJet and Kal Airways. An arbitral award dated July 20, 2018 directed SpiceJet and Ajay Singh to pay over Rs 308 crore with interest.

During the pendency of challenges to the award, courts passed directions requiring deposits and bank guarantees. On February 13, 2023, the Supreme Court directed payment of ₹75 crore towards interest, in addition to encashment of bank guarantees, and held that failure to comply would render the award executable. After non-compliance, the Supreme Court on July 7, 2023 held the award executable.

Subsequently, pursuant to High Court directions in 2024, the petitioners paid ₹50 crore out of an admitted liability of ₹194.51 crore, leaving a balance of ₹144.51 crore.

Rejecting the review pleas, the High Court found merit in Kal Airways' contention that the filings reflected a pattern of delay and non-compliance. It noted that financial distress had been repeatedly raised since 2023 and had already been considered by both the High Court and the Supreme Court.

“This Court finds merit in the contention of the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondents that these Review Petitions are a complete abuse of the process of law and the Review Petitioners have been constantly defying the Orders of the Apex Court by filing one Application/Petition after the other.”

The court concluded that reliance on recent events such as the West Asia conflict did not constitute any valid ground for review and could not justify reopening or diluting earlier binding directions.