Court issues non-bailable warrant for Vijay Mallya

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant for absconding businessman Vijay Mallya in connection with a Rs 180-crore loan default case linked to the Indian Overseas Bank, according to a report by Bar and Bench.

A special court in Mumbai, a bench of SP Naik Nimbalkar, issued a non-bailable warrant for absconding businessman Vijay Mallya on June 29, following an application filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the order was made public only on Monday, as reported by The Times of India.

Judge Nimbalkar noted several other non-bailable warrants against Mallya and his “fugitive” status, stating, “The non-bailable warrants are yet pending for execution. It leads to the inference that the accused has evaded the process of law and was declared as a Fugitive Economic Offender. Resultantly, in such a scenario, no purpose would be served by issuing process in the form of summons.”

The CBI informed the court that Mallya “intentionally defaulted” on repaying the Rs 180 crore loan from the government-run Indian Overseas Bank, causing significant financial losses.

In 2016, Mallya was charged under the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) and cheating (Section 420), as well as under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Since March 2016, Mallya has been residing in the United Kingdom, and the Indian government is seeking his extradition to face charges of fraud and money laundering.

Mallya allegedly owes over Rs 9,000 crore in debts related to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India.