Debangana Ray
Published on July 11, 2022 at 16:58 IST
The Supreme Court sentenced fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya to four months in jail in a contempt of court case for not truthfully disclosing his assets and for secretly transferring $40 million to his family members.
Mallya will undergo the jail term as and when he is brought back to India.
A bench, headed by Justice Uday U Lalit, also directed Mallya to deposit $40 million with the court within four weeks, along with an interest of 8% per annum, failing which the court said attachment proceedings shall begin.
The bench, also comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha, emphasised that Mallya did not show remorse at any stage of the proceedings and hence it is necessary to impose adequate punishment to uphold the majesty of the law.
Mallya was held guilty of contempt of court by an order in May 2017 for wilful disobedience of its order to come clean on all his assets and not disclosing $40 million he had received from British liquor major Diageo Plc.
The money Mallya received from Diageo was transferred to his three children and estranged wife. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, prescribes a maximum punishment of imprisonment for six months.
Mallya, who fled to the UK in 2016 following the charges of bank loan default to the tune of over ₹9,000 crore associated with the collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines in 2012, is an NRI while his children and estranged wife are US citizens.
He denies “fleeing” from India and says he made an “unconditional” offer to pay back the sum in full.
Mallya faces charges relating to financial irregularities at Kingfisher Airlines. He is also being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial crimes.
The 2017 verdict had come on a plea by a consortium of creditors led by State Bank of India, which argued that Mallya disobeyed court orders by making “vague and unclear disclosure of his assets”
Mallya’s plea to reconsider the conviction under the contempt charge was also dismissed by the apex court in August 2020.
Following the conviction, the top court directed Mallya’s presence to proceed with the contempt case and deliver the punishment.
However, Mallya remained elusive and the matter was adjourned several times owing to his unavailability.
At the same time, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the Centre, pressed for exemplary punishment for Mallya for his wilful non-participation before the Supreme Court.
The bench noted that Mallya’s letter disclosed that he was aware of the proceedings before the Supreme Court and therefore, the matter could be taken to a logical conclusion.
Following all the submissions, the court reserved its judgment on the quantum of punishment.