Patiala House Court issues double blow to compel Mallya's return

Two metropolitan magistrates issue non-bailable warrants against him in separate criminal proceedings on Friday

In another series of blows to beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya, two metropolitan magistrates of the Patiala House Court in New Delhi issued further non-bailable warrants against the businessman in separate criminal proceedings on Friday.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass issued the first of the two non-bailable warrants for Mallya's failure to appear in a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) violation matter, whilst the second was issued by Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand on the same ground in relation to a cheque bounce complaint filed by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).

While issuing the non-bailable warrant, Dass observed that Mallya was facing several criminal prosecutions and evading appearances in each of these courts, showing his utter lack of regard for the law of the land. Dass also termed Mallya's defence of incapacitation from travel due to the revocation of his passport as malafide and referred to it as an abuse of the process of law.

The court had on July 9, cancelled Mallya's exemption from personal appearance in the matter and directed the accused to appear before it on the next date of hearing. The exemption from personal appearance had been granted to the grounded Kingfisher Airlines chairman in December 2000, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a complaint against him for failure to respond to summons issued by it.

The ED had summoned Mallya in relation to an alleged payment of $200,000 to UK-based Benetton Formula Limited in 1995 for featuring of the Kingfisher logo during the Formula One Championships in London and other European destinations between 1996 and 1998. The ED had alleged that the payout was without the approval of the Reserve Bank of India and in violation of FERA provisions that existed at the time. The investigative agency had also sought the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against the businessman to secure his presence in the trial, which is now in its final stages.

In Friday's hearing, the court highlighted that on October 4, it had specifically allowed Mallya to approach the relevant authorities to secure emergency documentation for his return to India, but no such steps had been embarked upon. "It appears that accused is not willing to take any steps to return to India. Keeping in view the conduct of the accused, coercive process has to be directed against the accused. Issue non-bailable warrant against the accused. Put up the matter for December 22," said Dass in court.

In the other proceedings, Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand also followed suit and issued a fresh non-bailable warrant against Mallya for his failure to appear in a 2012 cheque bounce case, directing it to be executed through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The court had on August 6, issued an earlier non-bailable warrant against Mallya to ensure his appearance in a case filed by DIAL, claiming that a cheque worth Rs 1 crore issued by Kingfisher Airlines in February 2012 had been returned due to an insufficiency of funds.

Prior to the issuance of the initial warrant, Anand had on several occasions noted Mallya's refusal to appear before the court despite repeated orders, making the intervention of the state machinery to compel his appearance inevitable.

DIAL has filed four separate complaints against Kingfisher Airlines and its chairman for the dishonour of several cheques adding up to Rs 7.5 crore, issued as payments for utilisation of services at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Mallya is presently facing criminal charges in multiple courts across India, after failing to repay loans issued by several banks worth over Rs 9,000 crore.