Mallya is living in the UK.
A Delhi court on Friday issued a non-bailable warrant against liquor Barron Vijay Mallya for allegedly evading a summons issued in a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) violation case.
The court made strong comments against the former chairman of Kingfisher Airlines who left India on March 2 and is reportedly living in the UK, reported The Times of India.
The court said that “he has scant regard for the law of the land and has no intention to return to India.”
“Mallya’s claim that he wants to return to India but his passport has been revoked was mala Fide and abuse of process,” the court said.
The court had canceled the exemption given to Mallya from appearing personally before the court in a FERA violation case in July. The exemption was granted to him in 2000 in a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The summons was issued in connection with the payment of $200,000 to a British firm, Benetton Formula Ltd, for displaying the Kingfisher logo in Formula One World Championships in some European countries. According to the ED, the payment was made without the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The court had asked Mallya to appear before it in September. The Supreme Court also had issued a summons warrant which he failed to obey.
Earlier, a Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman had lashed out at the businessman for not submitting the details of $40 million received from British firm Diageo in February this year. He was also criticized by the court for not disclosing his overseas properties as directed by the court.
“We are prima facie of the view that the report has not made a proper disclosure in respect of our order of April 7 directing to make complete disclosure of assets and in particular, the receipt of USD 40 million as to when it was received and how it has been dealt till date,” the bench said.
Mallya owes about Rupees 9,400 crores to 17 Indian banks. The businessman reportedly left India on March 2 and failed to show up before the probe agency on April 9, despite receiving a summons sent by ED three times.
He had offered to pay Rupees 6,800 crores to settle the dues of 9,400 crores. The government of India in April revoked the passport of Mallya.
India has requested the British government to deport Mallya citing that he didn’t have a valid passport. But the British government informed its Indian counterpart that it is not possible to deport him according to British law and requested to start the procedure for extradition.