Team News Riveting
New Delhi, July 11
The Supreme Court on Monday sentenced fugitive industrialist Vijay Mallya to four months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 in the contempt of court case.
A bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha delivered the judgment and directed Mallya to deposit 40 million USD with interest within four weeks failing which his property would be attached.
The contempt case against him was in connection to the bank loan default of over Rs 9,000 crore involving the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The Court had held Mallya guilty of contempt of court in 2017 for wilfully disobeying its orders in a petition filed by the Consortium of Creditors (COC) led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
The liquor tycoon allegedly transferred funds into the accounts of other persons in violation of the Court’s orders, in addition to making “vague and unclear” disclosures about his assets.
The banks had contended that Mallya concealed facts and diverted the money to his son Siddharth Mallya and daughters Leanna and Tanya Mallya in “flagrant violation” of the orders passed by the Karnataka High Court.
