The Bombay High Court has signalled that a long-running commercial dispute involving fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya and a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) may finally be nearing closure. The court has asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to clarify whether the asset recovery and settlement process connected to Mallya’s liabilities has been completed.
The development came during the hearing of Mallya’s 2020 petition challenging an order that allowed the SBI-led consortium to use assets confiscated by the ED to recover dues linked to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
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Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, told the court that circumstances had changed considerably since the petition was filed. He argued that most of the assets covered by the original challenge had already been attached, dealt with or utilised in the recovery process.
Bombay HC Says Matter Should End
Justice Milind Jadhav indicated that the dispute should not continue indefinitely. The court observed that the issue needed to be brought to an end and that it was time to “move on”.
The High Court directed the ED to file an affidavit clarifying the status of the settlement and recovery proceedings. It wants to know whether the process has effectively been completed before deciding the future course of Mallya’s petition.
The court will consider the response from the concerned ED official before determining whether anything remains to be adjudicated in the commercial dispute.
Mallya’s Counsel Claims ₹15,000 Crore Recovery
A major point raised during the hearing was the amount already recovered by the lenders. Desai claimed that public sector banks had recovered approximately ₹15,000 crore from Mallya, against an original claim of around ₹6,203 crore, excluding interest.
Mallya’s counsel argued that the recovery figure was substantially higher than the original principal claim and questioned why the matter continued to remain pending.
However, the ₹15,000 crore figure is a claim made by Mallya’s counsel. The accounting of recoveries, interest, liabilities and their distribution remains part of the wider legal proceedings. The High Court has therefore sought clarity from the ED before drawing any conclusion.
Dispute Stems From Kingfisher Loans
The case is connected to recovery proceedings involving assets seized by the ED in relation to Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines. In 2019, the ED told a special PMLA court that it had no objection to the SBI-led consortium liquidating confiscated assets to recover outstanding loans.
Mallya, who was declared a fugitive economic offender in January 2019, subsequently challenged the order permitting lenders to use the assets for recovery. His 2020 petition is now at the centre of the latest Bombay High Court proceedings.
Criminal Cases Will Continue
The possible closure of the commercial recovery dispute does not mean an end to the criminal cases against Mallya. Proceedings relating to alleged fraud, money laundering and financial irregularities will continue separately.
Mallya left India in 2016 and has remained in the United Kingdom amid legal proceedings over his extradition. Although UK courts have approved his extradition, further legal proceedings have delayed his return.
The latest Bombay High Court hearing is focused specifically on the asset-recovery dispute, with the court now awaiting clarity on whether the financial recovery process has effectively been completed.
