Supreme Court reserves order on Vijay Mallya’s review plea in contempt case

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a review petition filed by fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya against a 2017 verdict of contempt against him.

The Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Ashok Bhushan on May 9, 2017, found Mr. Mallya guilty of contempt for wilful disobedience of its order to come clean on his assets and not disclosing a sum of $40 million (₹600 crore) he received from British liquor major Diageo Plc following his resignation as Chairman of United Spirits Limited in February 2016.

The Bench had in the last hearing raised the issue of why the review plea was not listed before the court for last three years.

In his original arguments in 2017, Mr. Mallya had informed the court that the $40 million was one among “thousands of transactions” he did and could not be counted as an asset. He said he had no control over that money now as he had already disbursed it among his three adult children, who were U.S. citizens.

Countering allegations made by a banking consortium led by the State Bank of India, which had filed the contempt of court petition against him, Mr. Mallya said he had already given a complete list of assets as of March 31, 2016. The court had ordered him to provide the banks with a list of his assets so that they could recover ₹9,200 crore due to them.

The banks had sought contempt action against Mr. Mallya, arguing that the disbursal of the $40 million among his three children was in direct violation of a standing Karnataka High Court order that none of his assets should be “alienated, disposed of or be subjected to the creation of third party rights.”