Vijay Mallya Left India on 2 March, Attorney General Informs SC

Vijay Mallya. (Photo: Reuters)

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to Vijay Mallya on a plea filed by a consortium of 13 PSU banks headed by State Bank of India. The lenders had moved the apex court to prevent Mallya from leaving the country and impounding his passport even as the loan recovery procedure for Kingfisher Airlines is still on.

The notice will be served through the Indian High Commission in London. Based on CBI inputs, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the banks, informed the Supreme Court that Mallya is likely to have left India on 2 March and could be in the UK.

The apex court has sought Mallya’s response to the banks’ plea by 30 March which is the next date of hearing.

The lenders are trying to recover Rs 9,000 crore in loans owned by Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines.

While arguing the case, Rohatgi said the banks aren’t after Vijay Mallya’s blood and want to discuss modalities of loan recovery.

During the proceedings, Supreme Court reportedly questioned the banks if they should have given loans to Vijay Mallya without securing adequate assets as guarantee.

On Monday, the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has passed an order keeping the Diageo money out of liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s reach for now. The DRT has ruled that Mallya cannot withdraw the $75 million he received from Diageo to quit the liquor business, until the case is disposed of. The tribunal has set the next hearing of the case for 28 March.