Disclose all assets by April 21, inform when you will appear by then: SC to Mallya
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court wants loans defaulter Vijay Mallya to declare all his assets by April 21 and by that same date inform the court when he can appear before its bench.
The court on Thursday also told Mallya – who owes more than Rs 9,000 crores to as many as 17 banks – to deposit a ‘substantial amount’ with it to ‘prove his bonafide’.
April 21 is also when Mallya has to tell court how much he can deposit with it.
The next hearing is set for April 26.
Mallya’s counsel on Thursday did not rule out the liquor baron’s return to India but said that currently there were ‘some problems’ with his returning home. The businessman, his counsel said, will inform the court about his return by April 22.
The court also asked Mallya to make a full and honest disclosure of all Indian and foreign properties – moveable and immovable – that he, his wife and children own.
The State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday rejected the liquor baron’s proposal to pay back Rs 4,000 crores by September 30. SBI said that there is “no value in the offer”.
Mallya and his firms on March 31 had told the apex court that they were ready to pay Rs 2,000 crore upfront and over Rs 2,000 crore by September 30 and placed a proposal in a sealed envelop before a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman. The bench had asked the SBI to go through the proposal and respond by April 7 whether it was acceptable or not.
Sources aware of the development said that SBI formally informed Mallya three days ago about its decision.
In addition to the over Rs 4,000 crores promised by September 30, Mallya had said he was willing to assign gains from a $236 million lawsuit Kingfisher Airlines had filed in Bengaluru in 2013 against aircraft engine-maker International Aero Engines (IAE) for allegedly supplying “inherently defective” engines for its fleet of A-320 aircraft that led to grounding of its 14 aircraft and consequential losses.
SBI has the highest exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to Kingfisher Airlines. Other banks with exposure to the airline include PNB and IDBI Bank (Rs 800 crore each), Bank of India (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore). UCO Bank has to recover Rs 320 crore, Corporation Bank (Rs 310 crore), State Bank of Mysore (Rs 150 crore), IOB (Rs. 140 crore), Federal Bank (Rs. 90 crore), Punjab & Sind Bank (Rs 60 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 50 crore). As part of the recovery process, the SBI-led bank consortium has decided to auction Kingfisher House in Mumbai.
