The Supreme Court on Tuesday held former Member of Parliament and liquor baron Vijay Mallya guilty of the contempt of court and ordered him to be present in the court on July 10 to argue on the quantum of punishment.
The noted industrialist, who is facing recovery proceedings from a consortium of banks to whom he owes loans of Rs 9,000 crore, had flouted the decision by the court to disclose all assets and deposits held by him as well as his his wife and two children. Although Mallya submitted a list of properties and bank account details, the Bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and UU lalit found him guilty of suppressing information from the court on two counts.
The first related to a sum of $40 million paid to Mallya by British firm Diageo for buying out Mallya’s stake in the United Spirits limited. The banks pointed out to the court that despite status quo order, Mallya transferred the sum into accounts held by his children in violation of the court order.
The second instance was Mallya suppressing full details of his foreign assets. The SC said, “We have found respondent number 3 (Mallya) guilty of contempt of court on the two grounds.”
The order has come at a time when the Indian Government is pursuing its attempts to extradite Mallya from Britain to face various proceedings pending against him for defaulting on loan repayment. The current order of the Supreme Court will serve as a tool for India to expedite this process.