A long-running asset-recovery dispute involving fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya and a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) could be nearing resolution, with the Bombay High Court asking the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to clarify whether the matter is effectively over.
The development came as the Bombay High Court considered Mallya's 2020 petition challenging a ruling that allowed the SBI-led consortium to use assets attached by the ED to recover unpaid dues linked to Kingfisher Airlines.
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Mallya's lawyer, senior advocate Amit Desai, told the court that the petition was filed in 2020 while settlement discussions were still underway. The plea had sought protection for certain assets.
According to the Hindustan Times, Desai argued that the circumstances had changed significantly since then, as most of the assets covered by the original proceedings had already been attached and dealt with, making the petition no longer viable.
“Actually, this issue needs to be put to an end. The idea is to move on… otherwise the relations and the economy of the country suffer,” Justice Jadhav remarked, according to the report.
The court asked the ED to file an affidavit clarifying whether the settlement and recovery process had been completed and whether “everything is done and dusted”. The bench also made it clear that any resolution of the asset-recovery dispute would not affect the criminal proceedings against Mallya.
The court said the criminal proceedings must still be “taken to their logical end”.
The High Court will decide its next course of action after hearing the concerned ED deputy director.
Desai also cited the amount recovered by public-sector banks to argue that Mallya's financial liabilities had largely been settled.
According to the HT, Desai said, “It is unfortunate that public sector banks are keeping this matter pending.”
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Desai said the banks had recovered about Rs 15,000 crore from Mallya, compared with the originally claimed dues of Rs 6,203.35 crore plus interest.
“The RBI audit itself says it's an airline's business failure and nothing else. Banks have taken away Rs 15,000 crore, and now they say sorry. That's not good enough,” Desai added.
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