Today's Edit: Stormy days for Mallya

Credibility demolished, stature destroyed

Vijay Mallya, the industrialist, had lost face years ago following the Kingfisher Airlines' fiasco. Now, Mallya the parliamentarian, has been ground to dust with the Rajya Sabha ethics panel recommending his immediate expulsion from the upper House. With his reputation in tatters, he is now fighting a grim battle to remain out of prison. One of the ways he believes he can achieve this is to be physically as far away from Indian law-enforcing agencies as possible. This explains his continued stay in london and the threat that his arrest will not result in the dues he owes to banks and Kingfisher Airlines staffers — together amounting to several thousand crores of rupees — to be repaid. In short, he wants some form of immunity from arrest in case he decides to return to India and pay up. There is no doubt that the primary aim is recover the outstanding amounts from Mallya, but the disgraced industrialist is in no position to place conditions. His passport stands revoked; there is an arrest warrant against him; various banks, whom he owes more than Rs9,000 crore, have rejected his earlier offers of part payment; Indian authorities have begun the process of getting him back.

His virtual expulsion from the Rajya Sabha has primarily to do with the brazenness he demonstrated in refusing to heed summons from enforcement agencies and the resultant steps the Government took in the matter. The upper House's ethics panel was left with no option but to recommend his immediate expulsion after he made a complete mockery of the very processes of law he was expected to uphold when he took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Mallya had in the course of his rise in politics made many friends across the political spectrum, but he has lost them as swiftly  the few that he is left with cannot dare petition in his favour openly after his irresponsible conduct in recent weeks.

Mallya's business is not the first to go bust, nor is he the first businessman to face mounting trouble from various quarters; others have faced challenges too. But those who took them head-on, presented credible plans to authorities to get out of the mess, and demonstrated sincerity of purpose, at least held on to some shred of credibility. Mallya's ‘couldn't-care-less' attitude, his persistence with a dazzling lifestyle even as banks struggled to get their money back and his airlines' staffers waited in vain to be paid their dues for several months, his expensive acquisitions (of property and sports teams), and finally, his flight out of the country as the heat grew on him, ensured that he was left with no goodwill.

The future is grim for Mallya. Theoretically, of course, if he returns and faces the law and gets arrested, he could be out on bail and then live to fight an expensive legal battle, hoping to stretch it to years and even decades. That would suit him, drain the Government agencies and eventually shift public and media attention from his controversial deeds. On the other hand, things could turn out bad (the Sahara India chief's case is an example). But Mallya cannot be on the run for ever. With his passport gone and the process to get him deported from wherever he is, initiated with a sense of determination, he could be facing the Indian courts sooner than he wishes to.