Bombay HC warns Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on social media
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The Bombay High Court on Tuesday warned businessman Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on social media while his case is pending before the court.
Justice Milind Jadhav was informed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer Ashish Mehta that Mallya had shared the agency's affidavit in response to his petition on his social media accounts even before it was submitted to the court.
The ED filed the affidavit on September 8 and served it to Mallya's legal team the same day. The matter was scheduled to be heard on September 9. However, Mallya uploaded the affidavit on his social media accounts on the evening of September 8, Mehta told the court.
The judge asked senior advocate Amit Desai, who appeared for Mallya, to warn his client against repeating the conduct.
"This is not good conduct. This is serious. Please warn him (Mallya) against doing so in future. Whatever he wants to submit, he can do so in court," the court said.
"Please make your client understand, this is not the way to do it....it undermines the efficacy of the court," Justice Jadhav added.
Mallya filed the petition in 2020 seeking the closure of criminal cases against him, claiming that the dispute with the banks had been settled after they recovered their dues. The ED, however, said Mallya continued to evade the process of law in India and that recovery of assets did not absolve him of the money laundering charges.
The High Court adjourned the hearing to October 13 and directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to file its affidavit-in-reply.
According to the ED's affidavit, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore, valued as of August 2021, had been handed over to the SBI-led consortium of lender banks. The agency said the recovery did not by itself cancel or lead to the dropping of the money laundering charges.
Mallya left India in March 2016 and was declared a proclaimed offender in November that year. He is accused of laundering money and siphoning off at least Rs 3,500 crore from around Rs 9,000 crore in loans extended to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
The ED attached Mallya's properties in 2016. In 2019, a special court allowed SBI and other lenders to use the movable properties for debt recovery. The assets included shares of United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL). Mallya challenged the order before the High Court in 2020.