The Debts Recovery Tribunal's Bengaluru Bench on Thursday allowed banks' recovery proceedings against Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and its promoter Vijay Mallya directing them to pay back approximately Rs 6,203 crore to the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.
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A consortium of 17 banks led by the country's largest public sector lender State Bank of India had approached the tribunal seeking instructions to liquor baron to repay the loan.
The SBI-led consortium had approached the DRT in 2013 as a last resort after several attempts by the lenders for a settlement with Mallya failed. SBI had earlier declared Mallya a wilful defaulter after he failed to fulfil his debt repayment conditions.
Later, the liquor baron was declared a proclaimed offender by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai as he did not appear there on several occasions.
Separately, the Enforcement Directorate is also pursuing the case with a money laundering angle and has issued several summons to Mallya.
Last year, the Supreme Court had also asked the tribunal to decide the case expeditiously.
On Thursday, the presiding officer of the tribunal, K Srinivasan, ruled the verdict and directed the airline to pay an interest at the rate of 11.5 percent per annum on the due amount from the date of initiation of recovery proceedings.
The move spells fresh trouble to Mallya, who has been living in a self-imposed exile in the UK since March 2016, and provides major relief to banks. The ruling also puts an end to the three-year legal battle the banks had resorted to start criminal proceedings against the beleaguered businessman.
