New Delhi: Credit Suisse told the Supreme Court on Friday that SpiceJet has cleared its outstanding dues and is no longer in default. On the bank’s request, the court deferred the case to the end of July. At the next hearing the court will monitor whether SpiceJet has been paying its monthly instalments on time.
During the previous hearing, the Supreme Court took exception to SpiceJet’s failure to settle its dues after Credit Suisse said it had received only $13.75 million of the $15 million it was to be paid by 15 February. The court ordered the airline to clear all pending payments by 15 March and pay $1.25 million to Credit Suisse by that date.
At previous hearings, the court noted reports indicating that SpiceJet, in partnership with Busy Bee Aviation Private Limited, had submitted a bid to acquire the bankrupt airline Go First. The court questioned SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh’s capacity to finance the acquisition while neglecting the airline’s overdue payments, warning that further delays would not be tolerated.
Credit Suisse had filed a petition in March 2023 to initiate contempt proceedings against SpiceJet and Singh, alleging deliberate non-compliance with court directives and failure to settle outstanding dues.
In August the court issued a notice to SpiceJet in the case. It gave the airline until September to start paying $1 million a month for six months to Credit Suisse, followed by monthly payments of $500,000, noting that SpiceJet was behind on its monthly payments by $3 million.
The dispute dates back to November 2011 when SpiceJet, then under the ownership of Kalanithi Maran, entered into a 10-year aircraft servicing agreement with SR Technics, a Swiss MRO service provider. SR Technics handed over all rights to receive payments under the SpiceJet deal to Credit Suisse in September 2012. However, the airline failed to make payments of over $24 million, leading Credit Suisse to file a winding-up petition against SpiceJet in the Madras High Court in 2021.
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