Breaking: Vijay Mallya Guilty Of Contempt: SC [Read Judgment]

A two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that industrialist Vijay Mallya is guilty of contempt for willful disobedience of Supreme Court's order.

The Bench has directed him to personally appear before the Court on July 10 to declare the sentence

A bench of  justices A K Goel and U U Lalit had reserved the order on the contempt petition filed by the consortium of 17 banks led by SBI on March 9.

Mallya, whose defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had left India on March 2.

In a major breakthrough for the Indian law enforcement authorities, the Scotland Yard on April 18 arrested Mallya in London. He was produced before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court today and was later granted bail. Union government is looking at ways and means to get Mallya extradited.

The bench had earlier asked Centre to brief it about modalities under which its order against Mallya could be enforced as he left country and living in UK.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, representing the consortium  argued that Mallya did not disclose USD 40 million deal with Diageo to the court and alleged that  he took the apex court for a ride and cared two hoots for the courts and said the government and the banks were taking all steps to bring him back.

Mallya’s lawyer claimed before the court that he has got no money to refund Rs 9000 Cr loan as all his asset been attached by government authority.

Mallya was being repeatedly pulled up by the apex court for not making full disclosure of his foreign assets

It was on July 25 that the Supreme Court issued notice to Mallya on a petition filed by the banks consortium seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against him for non-disclosure of his assets despite a specific order from the bench three months ago.

The total attachment made by the Enforcement Directorate in this case has now shot up to Rs 8,041 crore. This is one of the largest attachment of assets made by ED in a PMLA case till now.

The agency had registered a money laundering case against him and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI.

The Enforcement Directorate had on September last year seized properties, assets and shares, belonging to Mallya, worth Rs. 6,630 crore. The action against Mallya came after the CBI lodged a fresh case of cheating against him.

Read the Judgment here.