Report: SC issues contempt notice to Ajay Singh

SpiceJet’s legal troubles are mounting by the day. The SC on Monday issued a contempt notice to SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh on a plea filed by Credit Suisse, which has accused the airline of failing to comply with an “in-principle commercial settlement” arrived at in a $24-million dispute last year. The Swiss firm alleged that Singh and SpiceJet have not been paying as per schedule and that there is an outstanding balance of $6.5 million.

In a statement, SpiceJet said: “A settlement agreement had been reached between SpiceJet and Credit Suisse last year for an amount of $24 million. The debt is an old one and predates the current promoter (Ajay Singh) taking over the company. The payment of the settlement amount was subject to RBI approval. SpiceJet could not start the payment asscheduled under the consent terms till the RBI approval came. Till date, SpiceJet has paid $7.1 million to Credit Suisse. The shortfall of $4.4 million pertains to the period when RBI approval was still awaited. The Company intends to pay this and the balance amount as per the applicable schedule.”
SpiceJet reported a profit of Rs 205 crore in April-June, against a loss of Rs 789 crore in Q1 of last fiscal.