Vijay Mallya guilty of contempt of court, SC directs him to appear on July 10

Mallya is wanted for defaulting on over Rs 8,000 crore in bank loans.

New Delhi, May 9: In more trouble for former liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Supreme Court on Tuesday found him guilty of contempt of court on plea by consortium of banks.. The apex court directed Mallya to appear before it on July 10 to argue on the quantum of punishment in the matter.

“We have found respondent number 3 (Mallya) guilty of contempt of court on two grounds,” a bench comprising Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit said, the Times of India reported.

Mallya is wanted for defaulting on over Rs 8,000 crore in bank loans. He fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued in courts by banks seeking to recover Rs 8,191 crore owed by his now defunct Kingfisher Airline.

In addition to his legal troubles, Mallya faces six months in jail if India is successfully able to extradite him.

The Supreme Court order will strengthen India’s case to extradite Mallya from Britain. The second hearing in the extradition case in London is May 17.

The banks had been able to recover only Rs 155 crore. Despite multiple injunctions, Mallya failed to appear before investigators — and then flew out of India.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate had initiated criminal investigation against Mallya in July 2015 and January 2016 respectively under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agencies took the step on the basis of complaint filed by a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India.

The cases were registered against Mallya, Kingfisher Airline, UB Group company United Breweries Holdings Ltd and others.

With inputs from IANS