The Supreme Court on Friday allowed SpiceJet to pay Credit Suisse $1 million per month for six months, and $500,000 per month thereafter, to clear its dues to the global investment bank, reported Mint. The apex court noted that SpiceJet is behind on monthly payments by $3 million. Earlier this month, SpiceJet had made a payment of $1.5 million to Credit Suisse, following orders from the Supreme Court. Credit Suisse informed the court that it had received the said payment.

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has noted our compliance with its previous orders and agreed with our proposal to pay the $3 million arrears over the next 6 months. This is a positive outcome for the company and our stakeholders, and we are grateful to the Court for its understanding. We are committed to paying our dues in full and on time. We remain fully committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance and look forward to continuing our positive engagement with all stakeholders” SpiceJet said in a statement, as per the report. 

Shares of SpiceJet were trading down 2.78 per cent on BSE at Rs 36.00.

In September 2023, the SC issued a strong warning to Ajay Singh, the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of SpiceJet, regarding the airline’s failure to fulfill financial obligations owed to Credit Suisse. According to reports, the Supreme Court had cautioned him that non-compliance with its directive to make payments to Credit Suisse AG could result in him being thrown in Tihar jail. The court had instructed Singh to remit $500,000 as part of an installment to the Swiss firm, in addition to a defaulted amount of $1 million.

Switzerland-based Credit Suisse had filed a plea in March to initiate contempt proceedings against SpiceJet and its chairman and managing director Ajay Singh, citing alleged deliberate and intentional non-compliance with court orders and failure to settle a $3.9 million debt as stipulated in a prior settlement agreement between the parties.

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SpiceJet’s Legal Dispute With Credit Suisse Over Unpaid Dues

In 2011, SpiceJet signed a 10-year aircraft maintenance agreement with SR Technics. SR Technics later assigned the rights to receive payments under the agreement to Credit Suisse. However, SpiceJet failed to make payments of over $24 million, prompting Credit Suisse to file a winding-up petition against the airline in the Madras High Court in 2021.

In December 2021, the Madras High Court ordered the winding-up of SpiceJet. The airline challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which stayed the high court order and gave the company time to settle the matter.

SpiceJet is also involved in several other legal disputes related to unpaid dues. In September 2023, the airline completed the payment of Rs 100 crore to Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran, as per the Delhi High Court’s order regarding the execution of an arbitral award. SpiceJet owed Rs 397 crore to Maran, and the court is scheduled to hear the rest of the case next in October 2023.