New Delhi, Nov 30, : .The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it had waited sufficiently long and that the process to punish Vijay Mallya for contempt of court must be stopped.
He was convicted in July 2017.The Supreme Court has set the matter for January for disposition, where it will decide the severity of punishment.The Centre’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted a Ministry of External Affairs note for the court’s consideration.
Justice U.U.heads a bench.Citing the note, Lalit stated that Mallya’s extradition proceedings had reached their finality as he has exhausted all appeals in the UK.The UK has not released details of certain confidential proceedings that are currently underway.The court of appeal noted that Mallya’s presence couldn’t be secured due to these proceedings, despite its directives.
The top court had waited too long for Mallya to be sentenced in the contempt of Court matter.
The top court stated that Mallya can appear in person or present arguments through his counsel.However, the matter must be seen as it is being adjourned since 2017, when he was found guilty for contempt.
The bench stated that the only sentencing matter is pending for the past four years.However, it noted that the matter in terms of the 2017 court’s directions will now be listed on the 18th January 2022.
A judgment was delivered on July 14, 2017 and Mallya was found guilty in contempt for failing to pay Rs 9,000 crore of bank dues despite repeated instructions.Mallya was also accused of failing to disclose his assets and secretly trying to dispose off the assets in order to defeat the purpose for the recovery proceedings.
The Supreme Court was informed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), that the UK Home Office had indicated that Vijay Mallya’s extradition would not take place until this additional legal issue was resolved.This issue is independent of the UK law.According to the affidavit, Vijay Mallya’s surrender should have taken place within 28 days of losing his appeal against extradition.The UK Home Office indicated that Mallya’s extradition must be completed before there are any legal issues.
The Centre was asked by the top court to file a status update on extradition of Vijay Mallya within six weeks.The Centre informed the Supreme Court on January 18 that Vijay Mallya had been extradited at the highest political level.
However, the UK government refused to reveal the details of the confidential proceedings that delayed his extradition.
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