The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and including Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed SpiceJet’s appeal against the High Court’s September 11 decision.
NEW DELHI: Today (On Sept 20): The Supreme Court upheld a Delhi High Court order requiring low-cost airline SpiceJet to ground three aircraft engines due to unpaid dues to lessors.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and including Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed SpiceJet’s appeal against the High Court’s September 11 decision.
“We will not interfere. It’s a correct order,” the bench stated.
The High Court had determined that SpiceJet violated an interim payment arrangement, supporting a prior ruling from a single-judge bench that mandated the grounding of the engines by August 16 and their return to lessors Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS.
A High Court bench consisting of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Amit Bansal declined to intervene in an August 14 order from a single-judge bench requiring SpiceJet to ground three aircraft engines and return them to the lessors, thereby disposing of SpiceJet’s appeals.
The airline had contested the single-judge’s August 14 ruling. The High Court noted that the records indicated SpiceJet was in default, with both past and current dues remaining unpaid.
The single-judge issued the order in response to petitions from the lessors requesting that SpiceJet return possession of the engines following the termination of the lease agreements.
The original order, which has now been reaffirmed, was passed on August 14, 2024, by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora. The directive clearly instructed SpiceJet to ground the three engines by August 16, 2024, and to return them to their lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, within a specified period of 15 days.
In her detailed order, Justice Arora emphasized the urgency and importance of safeguarding the lessors’ interests, particularly as aircraft engines are assets that depreciate over time.
“The defendant is in default and does not have the legal or contractual right to continue using the engines.”
-stated Justice Arora in her ruling.
She further noted that allowing SpiceJet to continue using the engines without clearing its outstanding dues would exacerbate the financial strain on the plaintiffs.
Justice Arora emphasized that the continued use of the engines by SpiceJet was causing significant harm to the lessors, who had no other recourse but to seek legal intervention. The engines, being high-value assets that suffer depreciation and wear and tear, are at risk of further damage the longer they are used without adequate payment.
