The petition filed by one operational creditor was heard by the NCLT, which issued a notice to SpiceJet. The two-member bench of the NCLT, comprising Mahendra Khandelwal and Sanjeev Tanjan, ordered SpiceJet to file a response while scheduling the next hearing on November 14.
The airlines are presently facing petitions of insolvency filed by various creditors, such as Willis Lease, Aircastle Ireland Ltd, Wilmington, and Celestial Aviation, pending before NCLT and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
The current petition is from Techjockey Infotech Pvt Ltd, which claimed SpiceJet owed approximately 1.2 crores in software services dues. The petition, filed through Karanjawala & Co under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, sought to commence a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against the airline. Techjockey Infotech said SpiceJet admitted the debt but remains unpaid.
In June, the NCLT had also notified SpiceJet regarding a petition from Engine Lease Finance (ELF) that claimed a payment default of more than USD 12 million, about ₹100 crore. Meanwhile, the NCLT dismissed the insolvency pleas of Willis Lease Finance and Wilmington Trust, while SpiceJet has settled its case with Celestial Aviation. The petitions from Aircastle and Alterna Aircraft remain pending.
In the wake of doing so, SpiceJet has raised ₹3,000 crore by issuing shares to qualified institutional buyers. The amount raised shall be utilized to clear the liabilities owed to aircraft and engine lessors, engineering vendors, and other creditors. Statutory dues about the airline, as of September 15, stood at ₹601.5 crore, and the said amount generated from the aforementioned placement would also be used to repay part of those dues.
