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State Bank of India v. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.

Contempt Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Contempt Petition (Civil) Nos. 421-424 of 2016)Decided 9 May 2017
Contempt Petition (Civil) Nos. 421-424 of 2016
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. In the banks' recovery matter against Kingfisher Airlines, applications sought disclosure of the assets of Respondent No. 3, Vijay Mallya, a loan guarantor. A contempt petition alleged that he had concealed a receipt of US$40 million in violation of court orders.

Decision Breakdown

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. The Court held Respondent No. 3 guilty of contempt of court on both counts. It did not impose punishment and gave him one more opportunity to be heard, adjourning the matter to 10 July 2017 for hearing him in person, including on the proposed punishment. The Ministry of Home Affairs was directed to secure his presence on that date, and the main petition against the Karnataka High Court's refusal of interim relief was not decided.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on punishment or on the banks' main petition. The order does establish that concealing assets in breach of court orders during recovery proceedings is contempt.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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