Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 11: Vijay Mallya was given a four-month jail term and a Rs 2,000 fine by the Supreme Court on Monday for contempt charges. Court found him guilty of contempt of court in 2017 for withholding information from the court.
Mallya’s family members were also told by the Supreme Court to refund USD 40 million that had been transferred to them in defiance of court orders.
On March 10, the Supreme Court panel of justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and PS Narasimha reserved their decision in the matter, noting that the legal actions against the liquor tycoon had reached a ‘dead wall.’
The top court even decided to let the attorney who had previously been defending Mallya to file written arguments, if any, by March 15 after hearing senior lawyer and amicus curiae Jaideep Gupta on several topics.
Mallya’s attorney had previously informed the bench on March 10 that he was unable to provide an argument regarding the appropriate sentencing in the contempt case because his client, who is in the United Kingdom, had not given him any instructions.
The Supreme Court claimed that it had provided Mallya with numerous opportunities to appear in person or through counsel and had even provided specific instructions on November 30 of last year.
Mallya was accused of disobeying court orders on the repayment of a debt totaling more than 9,000 crore rupees by a group of banks led by the State Bank of India, who filed a petition with India’s highest court.
It was claimed that he was violating the restraint orders by failing to disclose the assets and, on top of that, by giving them to his children. After being found guilty of contempt in 2017, Mallya’s case was scheduled for hearings to determine the appropriate sentence.
Mallya’s appeal for a review of the 2017 judgement that found him guilty of contempt for transferring USD 40 million to his children in breach of court orders was denied by the Supreme court in 2020.
Notably, Mallya has been in the UK since March 2016. He is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by the Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.
