New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a plea by beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya challenging the proceedings in a Mumbai court to declare him a fugitive economic offender and confiscate his properties, PTI reported.
The apex court dismissed the petition for non-prosecution after the counsel representing Mallya submitted that he was not getting any instructions from the petitioner in the matter.
“The counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner is not giving any instructions to the advocate for the petitioner. In view of this statement, the petition is dismissed for non-prosecution,” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal said, as per the news agency report.
The top court, which had on December 7, 2018 issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Mallya’s plea, had refused to stay the proceedings on the probe agency’s plea before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court at Mumbai seeking the fugitive’ tag for him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018.
On January 5, 2019, the Mumbai special court declared Mallya a fugitive’ under the Act.
Under the provisions of the Act, once a person is declared a fugitive economic offender, the prosecuting agency has the power to confiscate his property.
Mallya, who fled to the United Kingdom in March 2016, is wanted in India over a default of Rs 9,000 crore that was loaned to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) by several banks.
Mallya had moved the apex court in 2018 challenging the Bombay High Court order which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on the proceedings before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on the ED’s plea to declare him a fugitive economic offender under the new law.
