The Delhi High Court has recently ordered SpiceJet to ground three leased engines after the airline defaulted on rental payments to two French lessors.
In an order issued on August 14, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed SpiceJet to ground the engines by August 16 and return them to the lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, within 15 days. The Court instructed SpiceJet to facilitate an inspection of the engines by the lessors’ representatives at Delhi Airport within seven days and to provide the necessary passes for the inspection.
Justice Arora further clarified that SpiceJet remains liable for the outstanding payment of $4.8 million, in addition to weekly payments for the continued use of the engines.
The Court’s decision came in response to pleas from Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, who claimed that SpiceJet owes them several million dollars. The Court found SpiceJet to be in default and ruled that the airline has no legal or contractual right to continue using the engines.
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, along with advocates Anandh Venkataramani, Saket Satapathy, Anubhav Dutta, Mansi Tyagi, Akshita Totla, Vishakha Gupta, Rishit Vimadalal, and Devvrut, represented the French lessors. SpiceJet was represented by Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi and advocates K.R. Sasi Prabhu, Kartikeya Asthana, and Manan Shishodia.
