HC warns Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on X, seeks fresh affidavit from SBI

The Enforcement Directorate, in its affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court, had accepted that it had recovered ₹14,000 crore from Mallya, and paid the amount to the banks he owed money to

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday warned Vijay Mallya against putting documents related to his pending criminal case on social media after the Enforcement Directorate objected to the tycoon putting the ED’s affidavit in court on his X account.

HC warns Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on X, seeks fresh affidavit from SBI

The Enforcement Directorate, in its affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court, had accepted that it had recovered ₹14,000 crore from Mallya, and paid the amount to the banks he owed money to.

On September 10, in a series of posts on his X account where he has 4.9 million followers, Mallya wrote: “And may I say again, an affidavit filed in Court by the most feared criminal agency the Enforcement Directorate confirms that they handed over ₹14,000 plus crores to the Banks in 2021. Forget what I say if you don’t trust me. Focus on what the Enforcement Directorate said.”

Taking note of the post, a single-judge bench of justice Milind Jadhav warned Mallya against putting such crucial information on social media while his trial is pending. It also directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to file a fresh affidavit after considering the disclosures made by the agency. The matter will next be heard on October 13.

The Bombay High Court is hearing Mallya’s plea seeking closure of criminal proceedings against him. His original 2020 petition challenged an order passed by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court which had allowed a consortium of lender banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to utilise assets confiscated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to recover his unpaid dues.

Mallya has claimed that the proceedings related to commercial disputes should be considered as closed after his lender banks recovered all their dues – around ₹15,000 crore against dues of ₹6,200 crore plus interest.

However, the ED in its affidavit before the court pointed out that criminal proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are distinct from proceedings for the recovery of civil dues. “The present proceedings arise from allegations of scheduled offences and the offence of money laundering under PMLA which operate in a field distinct from proceedings for recovery of civil dues by the lending institutions,” said the ED’s deputy director Amitabh Mishra in the affidavit filed on September 8.

Senior advocate Amit Desai representing Mallya had pointed out that the central agency’s plea had become infructuous over the passage of time due to subsequent orders passed by the special PMLA court allowing disposal of his seized assets worth around ₹14,131.60 crore. Justice Jadhav subsequently asked the Enforcement Directorate for its views on Desai’s submissions, prompting the affidavit.

The ED’s affidavit filed through advocate Ashish Mehta, pointed out that the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in January 2017 determined Mallya’s liability at approximately ₹6,203 crore, with further interest at 11.5% per annum until complete realisation. Mallya who left India in March 2016 was declared a “proclaimed offender” by the PMLA court in December 2016.

The ED said that pursuant to an order by the PMLA court, properties attached during the investigation were subsequently restored to the SBI-led bank consortium. Movable and immovable properties’ value at approximately ₹14,131.60 crore as on August 2, 2021, were handed over to the consortium through the Bengaluru DRT officer.