The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that pending matters concerning fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya before it will not affect proceedings in “any case anywhere in the world”.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde passed the order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said Mr. Mallya had cited cases pending in the Supreme Court of India to stall insolvency proceedings before a court in the United Kingdom.
“Mr. Mallya has been hanging the carrot of settlement before the State of Bank of India (SBI)-led banking consortium from whom loans were taken. Not a single rupee has come. The SBI has filed insolvency proceedings against Mr. Mallya in the U.K. Hearing is concluded. Now, he has said that a proposal is pending before the Supreme Court here… So, the U.K. court is waiting,” Mr. Mehta submitted.
The apex court should clarify that the pendency of any case here would not affect proceedings in the U.K. court, he said.
Mr. Mallya’s lawyer sought an adjournment. At this point, Chief Justice Bobde said an adjournment would be given, provided Mr. Mallya did not “use” the case in the apex court as a “cause” for stalling proceedings in other jurisdictions “anywhere in the world”.
In mid-2019, Mr. Mallya moved the apex court for a stay on the confiscation of properties owned by him and his relatives. He argued that only properties related to Kingfisher Airlines should be attached in connection with cases of alleged irregularities.
Mr. Mallya fled India in March 2016 and has been living in the United Kingdom since then.
In 2016, the consortium filed a contempt case against him for providing a“vague”statement about his assets despite an apex court order to facilitate the recovery of his debts worth over ₹ 6,000 crore.
The consortium then complained that Mr. Mallya failed to disclose his assets both to the court and his banks, especially the receipt of payment of $40 million out of a total $75 million (₹515 crore) from British liquor major Diageo Plc following his resignation as Chairman of United Spirits Limited in February 2016. It returned to the Supreme Court after the court ordered Mr. Mallya to reveal his complete riches to banks for the recovery of the total loan amount.
They contended that a disclosure statement of assets submitted by Mr. Mallya to the apex court in April and passed on to the banks for aiding them in the recovery of the loan did not contain a “whisper” about the details, forms and locations of his assets.
