SC terms single judge order in Maran arbitral award row 'atrocious'

The Supreme Court on Friday got irked over a lengthy judgement penned by a single judge bench of the Delhi high court in a case related to an arbitral award involving media baron Kalanithi Maran and SpiceJet, saying there was no “application of mind”.

Suggesting that the case be now transferred to another judge by the Delhi HC, the top court said the judgement "has to be carefully articulated" and "the judge must apply mind to grounds of challenge and then deduce if interference is warranted".

The strong observations against the single judge bench came from a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud during the hearing of an appeal by Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways against a Delhi high court order setting aside an arbitral award asking the SpiceJet to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest to the media baron and his firm.

The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, did not allow the submission of senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Maran and his firm, that the legal aspects of the dispute be considered.

"Come to the single judge order first...all that we can say about the single judge is filling up 250 pages is not writing a judgment under section 34 (of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act).

"This is atrocious. Just a number of the Supreme Court judgements (is cited) saying (scope of ) interference is limited.

"Let us not make any observations about this single judge.

"Where has he even applied his mind?" the CJI observed.

Section 34 of the Act deals with applications for setting aside arbitral awards.

"(By) Reading the single judge (bench) order, it does not seem there is any application of mind.

"The Delhi high court should now assign the case to a judge other than the single judge who was assigned the case," the CJI said.

The bench refused to entertain a plea of Maran, who also owns the Sun Group that runs television channels and several publications, and Kal Airways against the Delhi HC order that had set aside an arbitral award asking the low-cost carrier to refund monies plus interest to the media baron and his firm.

A single judge bench of the Delhi high court had on July 31, 2023 upheld the arbitral award asking Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh to refund Rs 579 crore plus interest to Maran and his company Kal Airways.

The award was passed by the arbitration tribunal on July 20, 2018 in favour of Maran and the Kal Airways.

On May 17 this year, a division bench of the Delhi high court, while dealing with an intra-court appeal against the order, set aside the single judge bench order that had upheld the arbitral award.

It had allowed the appeals of Singh and SpiceJet against the single judge bench order and remanded the matter back to the court concerned to consider the petitions challenging the arbitral award afresh.

Maran and Kal Airways moved the top court against the decision.