SC Asks Spice Jet To Move HC To Get Bank Guarantee Refund

The Supreme Court has instructed SpiceJet Ltd. to request a withdrawal of the $5 million bank guarantee that it had deposited with the court in May. 

In accordance with instructions from the Madras High Court, SpiceJet deposited the bank guarantee while the SC was deliberating a winding-up petition Credit Suisse AG had filed against the airline. Now that the winding-up case has been resolved. A bench chaired by former chief justice N.V. Ramana noted that the two parties' settlement was final and adjourned the case. The low-cost airline had informed the top court on May 25 that its dispute with Credit Suisse over unpaid dues had been resolved. On May 23, the agreement was signed, and the Supreme Court received the consent terms. 

The airline said that as part of the settlement, a specific amount was paid immediately and the remaining sum was paid over a mutually convenient schedule, without disclosing any more details. The dispute began in November 2011 when SR Technics, a Swiss maintenance, repair, and overhauling (MRO) service provider, signed a 10-year contract with the Ajay Singh-led airline for aircraft servicing and maintenance. 

The airline had issued seven bills of exchange to settle the money owed on the Swiss company's invoices, which were accompanied by seven invoices of their own. Credit Suisse received all of the lender's present and future rights to obtain payments under the arrangement when SR Technics and Credit Suisse agreed into a finance agreement in September 2012. However, Credit Suisse last year filed a winding-up suit against SpiceJet in the Madras High Court after the airline failed to make payments totaling more than $24 million. 

In accordance with Section 433(e) of the Companies Act of 1956, a single-judge bench of the Madras High Court permitted winding-up proceedings against SpiceJet on December 6, 2021, and ordered the official liquidator to seize the airline's assets. A division bench heard the airline's challenge to the ruling.