Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday asserted that the government has given liberty to banks to take every possible measure to recover their debts from liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who has fled the country.
"There is a loan of more than Rs. 9000 crores against him. The government is taking every measure to recover money from Mallya. We have given banks all the liberty to take every possible measure to recover their debts," Jaitley said in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress MPs led by party president Sonia Gandhi staged a walkout of the Lok Sabha soon after Jaitley's address.
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to Mallya on a plea filed by a consortium of 13 PSU banks headed by the State Bank of India. The lenders had moved the apex court to prevent Mallya from leaving the country and impounding his passport even as the loan recovery procedure for Kingfisher Airlines is still on.
The notice will be served through the Indian High Commission in London. Based on CBI inputs, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the banks, informed the Supreme Court that Mallya left India on March 2 and could be in the UK.
The apex court has sought Mallya's response to the banks' plea by March 30 which is the next date of hearing.
