Bombay High Court Seeks SBI and ED Response on Vijay Mallya Plea
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought responses from the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding a six-year-old plea filed by former liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The petition challenges a 2019 order issued by the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai that permitted a consortium of banks to utilize confiscated assets to recover outstanding loans.
Justice Milind Jadhav directed SBI, acting as the lead bank in the consortium, alongside the Deputy Director of the ED, to file their responses to the submissions made on behalf of Mallya. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for the matter on September 9.
Mallya’s application, which was originally filed in January 2020, questions the 2019 ruling of the Special PMLA Court located in Mumbai. The legal challenge directly pertains to various assets that were seized by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the legal case.
Appearing for Mallya during the hearing, senior advocate Amit Desai informed the court that the ground situation had changed considerably since the initial filing of the plea. Desai stated that discussions regarding a potential settlement had taken place at that time and pointed out that most of the assets attached during the original proceedings had already been dealt with over the intervening years.
Desai argued before the court that the ongoing commercial dispute now needed to be brought to a final conclusion. He submitted that the consortium of banks led by SBI had successfully recovered approximately Rs 15,000 crore from Mallya. According to the submission, this recovery significantly exceeds the original bank claim of around Rs 6,203 crore, which included interest charges.
In response to these submissions, the court noted that the figure of Rs 15,000 crore cited by Mallya's counsel would need to be formally verified by the participating banks. Justice Jadhav allowed Mallya to file an additional affidavit outlining all relevant developments that have transpired since the application was first submitted in 2020. A copy of this additional affidavit must be served on both the State Bank of India and the Enforcement Directorate for their formal replies.
The High Court also highlighted that four to five similar or related matters remain pending before it. Justice Jadhav clarified that the court will decide on its future course of action and determine whether to issue formal notices to other respondents only after hearing the arguments and submissions from the Enforcement Directorate.
