Contempt of court: SC sentences Vijay Mallya to four months in jail, slaps Rs 2k fine

The Supreme Court on Monday sentenced fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, who was found guilty of contempt of court in 2017, to four months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. A bench presided by Justice U U Lalit also directed him to return the US$ 40 million that he had transferred to his children with 8 per cent interest within four weeks’ time, failing which it said attachment proceedings will be initiated against him.

The top court had held Mallya guilty of contempt on two counts on May 9, 2017 – for disobeying its order asking him to fully disclose his assets and for violating a Karnataka High Court order restraining him from alienating his assets. The court found that had not disclosed the receipt of US$ 40 million in his account and transferred it to his children.

Sentencing him on Monday, the court said that having already held Mallya guilty of contempt, it must impose adequate sentences on him to uphold the majesty of the law. It added that he did not show any remorse.

The Supreme Court’s 2017 order came on a plea by a consortium of banks which is pursuing a case against him for failure to repay loans running into thousands of crores of rupees availed from them. The consortium led by the State Bank of India (SBI) had allegedly transferred US$ 40 million, received from British firm Diageo, to his children in “flagrant violation” of various judicial orders.

The banks urged the court to direct Mallya to deposit the US$ 40 million and sought contempt action against him. They claimed that he diverted the money to son Siddharth Mallya and daughters Leanna Mallya and Tanya Mallya in “flagrant violation” of the Karnataka High Court’s orders.

On August 31, 2020, it dismissed Vijay Mallya’s plea seeking a review of its May 2017 ruling holding him guilty of contempt of court and directed him to appear before it, but he is yet to.

Mallya, who is accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, has been living in the UK since March 2016 and is currently on bail on an extradition warrant executed by the Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.

With Thanks Refrence to: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/vijay-mallya-contempt-case-supreme-court-8021780/