Bombay High Court Seeks ED Status Report in Vijay Mallya Asset Dispute
The Bombay High Court in Mumbai observed on Wednesday that the commercial dispute between businessman Vijay Mallya and a consortium of banks should be brought to an end, directing the Enforcement Directorate to submit an update on the case and its asset attachments.
Justice Milind Jadhav was hearing a 2020 application filed by Mallya that challenges a special Mumbai court order. The special court had permitted a consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of India, to utilise certain assets belonging to Mallya that had previously been seized by the Enforcement Directorate.
During the proceedings, the single-judge bench directed the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate to furnish the current status of investigations against Mallya, along with complete details of all attachments made to date.
Advocate Amit Desai, representing Mallya, submitted that the application was originally filed in 2020, when the assets attached by the agency were valued at around ₹15,000 crore. Referring to statements made by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament, Desai argued that no clear statement has been made on what has been seized and what remains pending, despite the data being in the public domain. He stated that all civil liabilities are over and termed it unfortunate that public sector banks continue to keep the matter pending.
Desai also cited a Reserve Bank of India audit, which he said concluded that the dispute stemmed from a complete airlines business failure.
Responding to the submissions, Justice Jadhav stated that the Union government must file an affidavit confirming that everything is concluded, noting that closure is necessary for such commercial litigation. The court observed that substantial developments have taken place since the application was filed in 2020 and said it would decide the future course of action after hearing the Enforcement Directorate's Deputy Director.
Justice Jadhav remarked that the commercial dispute between the banks and Mallya must end after a decade, adding that international relations between countries were being affected and the idea should be to move on. The High Court has scheduled the matter for its next hearing after four weeks.
