Low-cost airline SpiceJet has approached the Supreme Court, challenging a Delhi High Court verdict that grounded three of its aircraft engines due to defaults on payments to lessors.
A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the counsel for SpiceJet to send an email requesting an urgent hearing of its plea challenging the Delhi High Court's September 11 verdict. "Please circulate the e-mail," the CJI said.
Delhi High Court on SpiceJet
The Delhi High Court refused to interfere with an order directing low-cost airline SpiceJet to ground three aircraft engines for defaulting on payment to engine lessors. A division bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Amit Bansal said the appeals of SpiceJet challenging a single judge's order to ground three aircraft engines and hand those over to the lessors was accordingly not entertained.
"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order. The impugned direction has not been interfered with by us. The appeals are accordingly not entertained," the bench said while pronouncing its verdict on the appeals.
SpiceJet had challenged the August 14 order directing it to ground the three engines by August 16 and hand those over to their lessors -- Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS -- within 15 days.
Single-judge bench on SpiceJet Airlines to ground 3 of its engines
Earlier, a single-judge bench of Justice Manmeet Singh Arora asked the debt-ridden airline to ground three engines by August 16, apart from taking steps to ensure that the engines are re-delivered to lessors within 15 days. In its order, the single judge had said, "This court has no option but to direct the defendant (SpiceJet) to ground the three engines with effect from August 16, 2024. The defendant will take steps to ensure that the engines are redelivered to the plaintiff within 15 days from today (August 14)".
The court had passed the order on pleas by the lessors seeking a direction to SpiceJet to hand over the possession of three engines on termination of the lease agreements.
