New Delhi, Aug. 31 -- Cash-strapped budget airline SpiceJet Ltd on Monday sought more time from the Delhi High Court to deposit the first Rs.50 crore instalment towards the Rs.144.5 crore it owes Kalanithi Maran and KAL Airways Pvt. Ltd in a long-running dispute.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for SpiceJet, told a bench headed by Justice Subramanian Prasad that the airline had received the first tranche of emergency credit support from the government in June and had used the funds for its operations.

SpiceJet was expecting a second tranche of about Rs.349 crore, but the funds had not yet materialized, Rohatgi said. The airline had expected the money by now and planned to use it to meet its payment obligations.

"I still expect...