The Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by billionaire Vijay Mallya opposing actions taken by a Mumbai court to designate him as a fugitive economic offender and seize his assets.
The apex court dismissed the petition for non-prosecution after the counsel representing Mallya submitted that he was not getting any instructions from the petitioner in the matter.
“The counsel for petitioner states that the petitioner is not giving any instructions to the advocate for the petitioner. In view of this statement, the petition is dismissed for non-prosecution,” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal said.
A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai received a petition from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requesting that Mallya be designated as a "fugitive" under the 2018 Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. The top court, which had on December 7, 2018 sent notice to the ED on Mallya's petition, had refused to stay the proceedings.
On January 5, 2019, the Mumbai special court had declared Mallya a ‘fugitive' under the Act. Under the provisions of the Act, once a person is declared a fugitive economic offender, the prosecuting agency has the powers to confiscate his property.
Mallya, who escaped to the UK in March 2016, is sought after in India for the default of a loan of £900 million that numerous banks provided to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). He filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2018 contesting the Bombay High Court's decision to deny his request for a stay of the proceedings before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on the ED's motion to designate him a fugitive economic offender under the new statute.