The High Court of Karnataka has directed United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd. and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAL) to approach the appellate tribunal against the order of the Adjudicating Authority (AA), which had rejected their applications seeking copies of certain documents based on which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had provisionally attached several of their properties in connection with the alleged money laundering case initiated against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in the IDBI fraud case.
The UBHL and KFA had moved the High Court on the ground that the appellate tribunal, before whom they had filed appeals against the authority’s August 23, 2016 order, was not available owing to lack of quorum as the Union government had not appointed a chairperson to the tribunal. The High Court, based on this preliminary argument of UBHL, had on September 21 stayed further proceedings before the authority.
The UBHL had sought copies of statements of witnesses and bank officials among other documents. However, the ED, before the authority, had contended that copies of some documents cannot given at this stage as investigation is incomplete.
The authority had rejected the pleas stating that the documents were not necessary to oppose confirmation of attachment while also indicating that the pleas for copies of additional documents seem to have been made to delay the adjudicating process, which required to be concluded by December 2, 2016, as per the law.
However, the counsel of the ED on September 28 had brought to the notice of the court that the tribunal was very much functioning, while indicating that the petitions does not survive before the High Court as the appeal against the authority’s order lies before the tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Following this, Justice A.S. Bopanna disposed of the petitions by holding that the UBHL and KFA are required to approach the tribunal while asking AA to defer the proceedings only till the two companies mention their pending appeals before the tribunal on October 4.
The High Court made it clear that the order is applicable only to UBHL and KFA. Mr. Mallya and other companies were also defendants before AA.
