Delhi HC Directs SpiceJet To Ground & Return Three Aircraft Engines To French Lessors Over Lease Payment Default
The Delhi High Court directed SpiceJet to ground and return three aircraft engines leased from two French lessors due to the airline's failure to make lease payments.
The Court's decision came after finding SpiceJet in default and determined that the airline lacked both legal and contractual rights to retain the engines.
A Bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said, “In view of the aforesaid findings, this Court has no option but to direct the defendant to ground the three (3) Engines with effect from 16.08.2024. 29.1 The defendant will take steps to ensure that the Engines are re[1]delivered to plaintiff within fifteen (15) days from today. 29.2 To this effect, the defendant is directed to offer prior inspection of the Engines to the plaintiff through its authorized representative at the Delhi Airport within seven (7) days and to facilitate the said inspection, the defendant is directed to make available passes to the plaintiff’s authorized representatives.”
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao appeared for the Plaintiff and Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for the Defendant.
The Court noted, “The defendant is a defaulter and has no legal and contractual right to continue the use of the Engines. The inability of the defendant to pay the admitted outstanding dues is writ large on the face of the record and infact permitting the defendant to continue the use of the Engines without payment would only cause the financial distress to the plaintiff and therefore, the balance of convenience is against the defendant and in favour of the plaintiff.”
Additionally, the Court emphasized that SpiceJet remains responsible for settling the outstanding debt of USD 4.8 million, along with any weekly payments due for the use of the engines. The judgment follows legal actions initiated by Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, who claimed that SpiceJet owed them a significant amount of money.
Cause Title: Team France 01 S A S v. Spicejet Limited, [2024:DHC:6138]
Appearance:
Plaintiff: Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, Advocates Anandh Venkataramani, Saket Satapathy, Anubhav Dutta, Mansi Tyagi, Akshita Totla, Vishakha Gupta, Rishit Vimadalal, and Devvrut.
Defendant: Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, Advocates KR Sasi Prabhu, Kartikeya Asthana, and Manan Shishodia.
Click here to read/download Judgment
