The Supreme Court on Friday expressed significant dissatisfaction with the handling of an arbitral award dispute between media mogul Kalanithi Maran and airline SpiceJet by a Delhi High Court single judge, describing the judge’s lengthy judgment as lacking “application of mind.”
During the hearing, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and the bench, which also included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, critiqued the handling of the case that involved a substantial monetary award. The apex court pointed out the inadequacy of the single judge’s 250-page decision, emphasizing that merely filling pages does not constitute a judicious application of legal principles.
The dispute traces back to an arbitration tribunal decision from July 20, 2018, which favored Maran and his firm Kal Airways, directing SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest. However, this decision was overturned by a division bench of the Delhi High Court on May 17 this year, which found fault with the single judge’s ruling and remanded the matter for reconsideration.
Chief Justice Chandrachud suggested that the Delhi High Court should reassign the case to a different judge, signaling a need for more thorough legal scrutiny and proper articulation in the judgment.
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The Supreme Court refrained from considering the broader legal arguments presented by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Maran and Kal Airways, focusing instead on the procedural and analytical flaws in the single judge’s approach.
