Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday sought closure of a long-pending matter before the Bombay High Court, claiming that his civil liabilities had effectively been settled after banks recovered around Rs 15,000 crore against an original claim of about Rs 6,203 crore, including interest.
The court, however, declined to proceed without first hearing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and directed that the matter be taken up on September 9.
A bench of Justice Milind Jadhav said Mallya’s claim of settlement would have to be verified by the consortium of lenders, particularly the lead bank, State Bank of India (SBI), as well as the ED.
The court also sought details on the present status of the agency’s proceedings against Mallya before deciding the future course of his application.
Mallya had approached the Bombay High Court in January 2020, challenging a December 2019 order of a Mumbai Sessions Court that permitted the consortium of creditor banks to use confiscated assets for recovering their dues.
The petition remained pending for nearly six years and came up for consideration after the High Court recently began taking up old matters that had remained on the shelf.
Senior Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, argued that the application had been filed in 2018 when discussions over a possible settlement were underway.
He said most of the assets identified and attached by the ED during the original proceedings had since been dealt with, making the dispute essentially a commercial matter that now required closure.
The bench, however, made clear that the ED’s position had to be established before any further steps could be taken.
The court said, “It is clarified that only after hearing ED, this Court will decide the further course of action in the present Application and consider issuing notices to the other Respondents, (other banks)”.
MALLYA IN UK SINCE 2016
The development comes against the backdrop of Mallya’s wider legal battle over his status as a fugitive economic offender.
He left India in March 2016 after the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines, which had borrowed thousands of crores from a consortium of banks.
He was declared a fugitive economic offender in 2019, allowing authorities to confiscate his properties under the law, while India has continued efforts to secure his extradition from the UK.
The High Court’s latest order does not amount to acceptance of Mallya’s claim that his liabilities stand settled.
The court is expected to examine the banks’ recovery figures and the ED’s position at the next hearing before determining whether the long-pending application can proceed and whether other respondents, including the creditor banks, need to be formally heard.
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