New Delhi: The Supreme Court has awarded a 4-month jail sentence and imposed Rs 2000 fine on fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya. He was found guilty of contempt of court in 2017 for withholding information from the court. The verdict was pronounced by a bench headed by Justice U U Lalit. The top court has also asked Mallya to deposit back USD 40 million with interest within four weeks and if he fails to do so it would lead to attachment of properties.
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines has been sentenced in a contempt case where he has been found guilty.
In 2017, Supreme Court had held Mallya guilty of contempt of court for withholding information from the court about transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the court's order
The bench, also comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha, had on March 10 reserved its order in the matter observing that proceedings against Mallya have hit a "dead wall".
The apex court had heard senior advocate and amicus curiae Jaideep Gupta on various aspects related to the contempt law and even decided to permit the counsel, who was earlier representing Mallya, to file written submissions, if any, in the case by March 15.
Mallya's counsel had on March 10 told the bench that he was handicapped in the absence of any instruction from his client, who is in the United Kingdom, and would not be able to argue on the quantum of sentence to be awarded in the contempt case.
"We have been told that there are some proceedings going on in the United Kingdom. It is like a dead wall, something is pending we do not know. What is the number (of cases) we do not know. The point is how long can we go on like this so far as our jurisdictional power is concerned," the top court had orally observed.
(With PTI inputs)