The Government will soon bring a law to confiscate domestic assets of individuals who default on bank loans and go absconding.
In an apparent reference to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who escaped the country while having an outstanding loan amount of Rs 9,000 crore against him, the Government said that the law intends to trap "big time economic offenders" whose domestic assets can be legally confiscated by the lending banks.
Making mention of the proposed legislation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech said, "Government is considering introduction of legislative changes, or even a new law, to confiscate the assets of such persons located within the country, till they submit to the jurisdiction of the appropriate legal forum."
In the recent past, there have been instances of "big time offenders" fleeing the country to escape the reach of law. "We have to ensure that the law is allowed to take its own course. Needless to say, all necessary constitutional safeguards will be followed in such cases," Jaitley added while indicating the broad contours of the proposed legal measures.
In the case of Mallya, several public sector banks including the State Bank of India (SBI) had approached the Supreme Court to seek recovery of Rs 9000 crore loan given to Mallya's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Although the case was pending before the Debt Recovery Tribunal, the apex court proceeded with the matter asking Mallya's counsel to submit a list of all movable and immovable assets including cash deposits held by the liquor baron, who is believed to have fled to United Kingdom. The banks also filed a contempt petition in the apex court after learning that the list of properties was incomplete.
Not long ago, the Centre faced a similar situation with former Indian Premier league (IPl) Commissioner lalit Modi. Despite non-bailable warrant issued against him in a case involving alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Enforcement Directorate has failed to secure his presence.