The Karnataka High Court on Friday issued a bailable warrant against liquor baron Vijay Mallya after he failed to appear before it in connection with a contempt of court case initiated against him for allegedly breaching an undertaking given to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in 2013 during the proceedings on banks’ plea for recovering dues from Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices Jayant M. Patel and Aravind Kumar, passed the order during the hearing of the contempt of court petition filed in 2014 by the banks accusing Mr. Mallya of pledging huge number of shares in violation of an “oral undertaking” before the DRT “for not to transfer, alienate or otherwise to dealt with his assets.” The Bench issued a warrant, returnable by February 17 and bailable on executing a bond for ₹1 lakh, as Mr. Mallya failed to personally appear before the court despite his counsel communicating the court’s two orders to him.
Meanwhile, a PTI report from New Delhi said Mr.Mallya claimed ‘innocence’ in the alleged funds diversion related to Kingfisher Airlines, saying nothing had come out finally against him from a court.
