New Delhi, Feb. 27 -- 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 t...