It seems that Vijay Mallya’s woes are further compounding as the fugitive prepares himself for his inevitable extradition to India. In a major blow to Mallya, the Supreme Court has ordered the winding up of United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd (UBHL), the parent company of UB Group where Mallya owns a 52.34 per cent stake in a bid to recover the dues incurred by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
A long-drawn court battle has finally reached its conclusion as Mallya is forced to yet again bite the dust. Upholding the decision of Karnataka High Court, a bench of Justices U U Lalit, Vineet Saran and S Ravindra Bhat dismissed the plea filed by UBHL, thereby paving the way for the winding up of the company.
The company’s battle against its winding up started in 2017 after a single bench of Karnataka HC had ordered the company’s winding up which was subsequently challenged before a division bench, which in turn, upheld the decision in March. The Supreme Court delivered the final blow as it also rejected the firm’s plea.
Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan while defending UBHL claimed that the company has assets worth approximately Rs 14,000 crore which have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate while the total debt amounted to only around Rs 6,000 crore.
Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the SBI-led consortium of lender banks contested Vaidyanathan’s claims as he stated that only Rs 3,595 crore had so far been recovered with the company still owing over Rs 11,000 crore.
The Supreme Court after hearing all the arguments dismissed the plea filed by UBHL, which will further compound the problems of the embattled tycoon.
Recently, the Debt Recovery Tribunal had ordered the SBI-led consortium of banks to initiate the process of recovering over Rs 6,203 crore, at 11.5 per cent annual interest rate, from Vijay Mallya and his companies in another Kingfisher Airlines case.
Earlier in May, sensing the noose tightening, after the Modi government announced 20 lakh crore rupees package to support the Wuhan coronavirus hit economy, Mallya tweeted that he is willing to make a small contribution to revenues, and would like to pay back all the money.
“Congratulations to the Government for a Covid 19 relief package. They can print as much currency as they want BUT should a small contributor like me who offers 100% payback of State-owned Bank loans be constantly ignored? Please take my money unconditionally and close,” tweeted Mallya.
It seems that Vijay Mallya will not only be brought back to India but will also be made to pay for every single penny that he owes, with interest.