Secure Vijay Mallya's Presence To Undergo Imprisonment In Contempt Case : Supreme Court Directs Centre

The Supreme Court has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to secure the presence of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to serve the 4 months imprisonment imposed on him for contempt of court.

In an order pronounced today, a bench led by Justice UU Lalit had imposed a sentence of 4 months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2000 on Mallya for committing contempt of country by willful disobedience of court directions. The fine shall be deposited in the Registry of this Court within four weeks and upon such deposit, the amount shall be made over to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. In case the amount of fine is not deposited within the time stipulated, the Contemnor shall undergo further sentence of two months.

Apart from the above, the Court directed the Union Government to secure Mallya's presence to serve the sentence.

"We direct the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi to secure the presence of the Contemnor to undergo the imprisonment imposed upon him. Needless to say, Government of India including the Ministry of External Affairs and all other agencies or instrumentalities shall carry out the directions issued by this Court with due diligence and utmost expediency. A Compliance Report shall thereafter be filed in the Registry of this Court", the Court ordered.

He was found guilty in 2017 for transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the orders passed in a case filed by a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India. Mallya, an accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is in the United Kingdom.

During the sentence hearing, the Union of India had informed the Court that though extradition of Mallya from the United Kingdom has been allowed, he could not be brought to India in view of some "secret" proceedings pending against him there, the details of which are not known to the Union Government.

Although the Court deferred the sentence hearing few times to give an opportunity to Mallya to appear, it ultimately decided to proceed in his absence in view of his refusal to appear. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta was appointed as an amicus curiae in the case to assist the court in the in absentia hearing.

Pronouncing the sentence today, the Court said that Mallya did not show any remorse for his conduct and did not appear before it during the sentence hearing. The Court added that adequate sentence must be imposed on him to "uphold the majesty of law" and that directions need to be issued to ensure that the amount in dispute is available for execution of the orders. Therefore, the Court has directed Mallya to deposit 40 million US Dollars with 8 percent interest within 4 weeks with the concerned recovery officer, failing which attachment proceedings will be initiated against his properties.

If not deposited, the recovery officer shall take appropriate proceedings for recovery of the amount and the Government of India and its agencies shall provide assistance and complete cooperation. Mallya's transfer of 40 million to beneficiaries in breach of court orders has been declared "void and inoperative".

Case Title : State Bank of India and others vs Dr.Vijay Mallya