New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- A special bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday imposed a combined Rs.15 lakh fine on SpiceJet and aircraft lessor Aviator ML 29641 Ltd for wasting the court's time by informing it of their settlement on the day the order was scheduled to be pronounced.

The tribunal deferred its order on the insolvency pleas against debt-laden SpiceJet and asked the regular NCLT bench to take up the matter on Monday.

The order comes after a hearing on Monday, when SpiceJet informed the tribunal that it had settled its dispute with one of the creditors, Aviator ML. The airline told the bench that it had admitted the debt and made an initial payment of $500,000 under a settlement agreement executed overnight....