The Supreme Court on Friday, July 14, adjourned a case of contempt of court against liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
The apex court said it would sentence him when the Central government gets him extradited back to India.
This came after the Central government, through Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, told the court that the process to extradite Mallya was already underway, and would be finished by December 4 this year.
Mallya, it may be noted, has already been found guilty of contempt of court in a case of transfer of funds from him to his children.
Mallya is currently in the UK, even as a consortium of banks looks forward to his possible extradition from there so he can face the court case filed against him by them for defaulting on loans to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore.
Mallya, it may be noted, had already been found guilty of contempt of court on May 9 because he had transferred $40 million to his children in violation of the apex court's order.
Mallya had been directed by the court to be present for the hearing on the quantum of his punishment. However, he has stayed put in the UK, even as India works through the diplomatic channels in order to get him extradited and face charges.
What is Mallya guilty of?
The liquor baron — ever since his embattled Kingfisher Airlines went under — has been chased by a consortium of six banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to repay his dues.
The Karnataka High court, while hearing one such case, had put an injunction on all funds Mallya was to receive. The intention was to divert those funds to pay the dues of the banks.
However, when Mallya received $40 million from Diageo on February 25, 2016, he funnelled the entire amount to son Siddharth and daughters Leanna and Tanya Mallya before leaving the country.
The banks then approached the apex court and said this was a "flagrant violation" of the Karnataka HC orders.
Mallya no-show
The Supreme Court heard the case from both sides, and sided with the banks on May 9.
Mallya was held guilty of contempt of court for transferring the money to his children, despite arguments from his side that the amount actually belonged to his son and daughters, and not to him.
That he did not show up in court might not have helped his case. Mallya had been ordered to be present for the decision on the quantum of his punishment as well, but he was a no-show once again.
He has not exactly been out of limelight, though. Mallya chose to attend quite a few cricket matches featuring India during the ICC Champions Trophy last month, and was even heckled and called a thief by Indians on one such occasion!
