The fugitive Indian businessman and liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya’s review petition against the judgment of the Apex Court in May 2017 has been dismissed by the Supreme Court today. The order had held him guilty of contempt of the court stating that he had profaned the orders of the Apex Court as well as Karnataka High Court. His petition and verdict on the review plea were reserved by the Apex Court in August 2017 against his conviction.
A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ashok Bhushan refused to re-examine the verdict to convict him for contempt of court and thus, rejected his plea. The bench conjointly said that “There isn’t any merit in Mallya’s petition.”
He was held guilty in ‘flagrant violation’ of varied judicial orders for an alleged transfer of USD forty million received from Diageo, a British Firm to his children.
A consortium of creditors and varied banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) had filed a plea against Mallya within the Apex Court, and he was found guilty by the Court in May 2017. He was also held guilty of contempt of court on account of his vague and false revelation of the total accounts of his assets. He was also accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs. 9,000 crores involving the defunct in Kingfisher Airlines and thus, guilty of not paying the said dues to the banks despite continual directions.
In June 2019 an explanation from the Registry regarding Mallya’s appeal had been sought by the SC. According to the record placed before the bench, the review petition was not listed for the last three years before the Court.
Pertinently, Mallya had filed a petition seeking a review of the Apex Court’s order. He was specifically ordered not to transfer or alienate any movable and immovable assets to any person by the High court. Also, he was restrained by the Court of such withdrawal, yet he siphoned the amount in millions from his bank account; hence, his plea was dismissed.
Reported By : Gayatri Vipul Lachke