SpiceJet moves SC against Delhi HC order grounding 3 aircraft engines

New Delhi: Low-cost airline SpiceJet moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, challenging a Delhi High Court verdict grounding three of its aircraft engines for defaulting on payments to lessors.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked the counsel for the airline to send an e-mail seeking an urgent hearing of its plea against the high court verdict of September 11.

"Please circulate the e-mail," the CJI said.

A division bench of the Delhi High Court held that the carrier had violated an agreed interim arrangement for payment of dues and upheld an order of a single judge bench asking the low-cost airline to ground the three engines for defaulting on the payments.

The single judge bench of the high court had on August 14 directed SpiceJet to ground three engines by August 16 and hand them over to their lessors -- Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS