Mumbai: Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has been warned by the Bombay High Court against posting legal documents on social media while his case remains pending.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) strongly objected to Mallya uploading the agency’s affidavit on X even before the Court had considered its contents, as reported by News18.
The State Bank of India (SBI) was also directed by the Court to file a fresh affidavit, taking into account the disclosures made by the ED. The matter has been posted for hearing on October 13.
Mallya is facing legal proceedings in India over loans of around Rs 9,000 crore taken by his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of banks. He left India in March 2016 and has remained in the UK since. In January 2019, a special court declared him a “fugitive economic offender”, allowing authorities to take steps to seize and dispose of his assets under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The case also involves proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In 2020, Mallya approached the courts challenging an order that allowed the SBI-led consortium to use assets previously attached by the ED as part of the recovery process.
During an earlier hearing, the Bombay High Court called for an end to the nearly decade-long dispute between Mallya and the banks over dues. Justice Milind Jadhav, hearing Mallya’s plea in August, said prolonging the matter could have adverse implications for the economy and sought an update from the ED on its probe and attached assets.
Mallya, 70, has challenged the transfer of his attached assets to the lenders. Earlier this year, the court also heard his pleas against his “Fugitive Economic Offender” status. It told him he would need to return to India and submit to its jurisdiction to pursue relief.
The Indian government has also been pursuing Mallya’s extradition from the UK.