On 9th April, the London High Court has deferred hearings on a plea by the SBI-led consortium of Indian banks against liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The banks are seeking that the indebted tycoon be declared bankrupt to enable them recover a loan of around £1.145 billion from him.
Chief Insolvency and Company Court judge Briggs, in his verdict delivered Thursday, said there is no obvious advantage for the banks to pursue this class action at this point in time. Granting relief to Mallya, the ruling said that he should be given time till his petitions to the Supreme Court of India and his settlement proposal before the Karnataka High Court be determined, allowing him time to repay his debts to the banks in full.
A consortium of Indian public sector banks led by the State Bank of India had sought a bankruptcy order against Mallya as part of efforts to recoup around GBP 1.145 billion of unpaid loans from Mallya.
According to the court document, the judgment on the bankruptcy petition was produced in December last year and circulated in January this year but its handing-down was adjourned for further argument at the request of the parties.
Meanwhile, Mallya remains on bail pending a UK High Court ruling in the extradition proceedings brought by India in relation to charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an alleged Rs 90 billion.
