New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- In a blow to budget carrier SpiceJet, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a Delhi high court order directing the airline and its promoter Ajay Singh to deposit Rs.144.51 crore in its long-running arbitration dispute with KAL Airways Pvt. Ltd and Kalanithi Maran. The court also imposed a cost of Rs.1 lakh for prolonging the litigation. A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe declined to interfere with the high court's 19 January order and rebuked the company over repeated rounds of litigation in the matter. During the hearing, senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for SpiceJet, urged the court not to impose costs. The bench, however, remarked that there had been "tons and tons of litigation" and that the court was "never seeing the end of litigation" in the arbitral dispute, before imposing Rs.1 lakh in costs. It also indicated that the amount could be increased to Rs.2 lakh if such pleas continued. The refusal to grant relief means SpiceJet must comply with the high court's 19 January order to deposit Rs.144.51 crore in six weeks. Queries emailed to SpiceJet remained unanswered till press time. In its 19 January order, Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi high court recorded that SpiceJet had admitted Rs.194.51 crore was due and payable under earlier Supreme Court directions. After adjusting Rs.50 crore already deposited, Rs.144.51 crore remained outstanding. The high court noted that the Supreme Court had passed clear directions in February and July 2023 requiring compliance within specified timelines, and held that those directions were not fully adhered to. Rejecting SpiceJet's contention that enforcement should await the final outcome of its challenges to the arbitral award, the court held that Supreme Court orders cannot be kept in limbo. Referring to Article 144 of the Constitution, which requires all authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court, the court said continued delay undermines judicial authority. It accordingly directed SpiceJet and Ajay Singh to deposit Rs.144.51 crore with the registry within six weeks. The dispute dates back to January 2015, when Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways transferred their 58.46% stake in SpiceJet to Ajay Singh under a share sale and purchase agreement, at a time when the airline was facing acute financial distress....