The petition demands criminal proceedings to be initiated against as many as 44 big defaulters who owe over Rs 4.8 lakh crore to public sector banks, quoting latest available data as on March 31, 2015.
This Change.Org petition, which was started in February 2016, requests Finance Minister Arun Jaitley "to set a strong example that will make corporate defaulters think twice before cheating."
There has been a growing clamour in the recent past to seek urgent action against Mallya for recovery of dues totalling over Rs 9,000 crore in unpaid loans and applicable interest.
Mallya, as also his long-grounded Kingfisher Airline and UB Group holding company UBHL, have been declared wilful defaulters by some banks, while a consortium of 17 lenders, headed by SBI, have approached courts to seek fast recovery of their dues.
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Banks have initiated action under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (Sarfaesi) Act in 584 such cases.
Yesterday, Mallya was directed by the Supreme Court to disclose by April 21 the total assets owned by him and his family in India and abroad. After banks rejected an earlier Rs 4,000 crore settlement offer from Mallya, the court also asked him to deposit a "substantial amount" with it to "prove his bonafide" that he was "serious" about meaningful negotiations and settlement.
It further reads "73 per cent of these unpaid loans are from India's rich, like Vijay Mallya. Many of these unpaid loans are being written off. Instead of recovering them, we are pressurising the middle class and poor farmers.