A Delhi court has ordered attachment of liquor baron Vijay Mallya's properties in Bengaluru in a case relating to FERA violations. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat has issued fresh directions after the Bengaluru Police, through Enforcement Directorate's special public prosecutor NK Matta and advocate Samvedna Verma, sought more time to execute its earlier order. Earlier, police authorities had informed the court that it has identified 159 properties belonging to Mallya, but has not been able to attach any of them. Mallya has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court on Janaury 4, for evading its summons in the case.
On May 8, the court had directed the attachment of Mallya's properties in the case through the Bengaluru Police commissioner and sought a report on it. It had declared Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a FERA violation case after finding that he had failed to appear despite repeated summonses. On April 12, last year, it had issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against the liquor baron. Unlike a non-bailable warrant, an “open-ended bailable warrant” does not carry a time limit for execution.
Meanwhile, an appellate tribunal, proclaiming that banks have the “priority right” on the assets of Mallya, asked the ED not to change the “status quo” of properties worth £800 million attached by it in the case. It has also restrained Mallya from altering the status or creating third party interest of his movable and immovable assets. Chairman of appellate tribunal on Prevention of Money Laundering Act Justice Manmohan Singh admitted the application of 12 banks, which were cheated by Mallya, and said, “In view of settled law on the subject, I am of the opinion that the appellant banks are the rightful claimants who have already obtained decree against the borrower from Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) under the SARFAESI (The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest) Act and have priority rights to recover the loan amounts forthwith.”
A senior ED officer said, “This order means nothing. Earlier too, the appellate tribunal had released some properties attached by ED in Mallya case but that order has been stayed by the high court. Mallya's properties have been attached in accordance with the law, which also says that these properties are part of the case till trial is going on.” The ED has claimed that the properties, which are in its possession, cannot be sold at this stage as the trial in the case is incomplete.
Justice Singh observed, “Admittedly, the trial may take number of years in view of the nature of the case and bulky records. The banks are the secured creditors against the unpaid loans by Mallya and associate companies.”
