In a major development in the Vijay Mallya case, the Supreme Court has sought an explanation within two weeks from its Registry as to why his appeal against the May 2017 conviction in a contempt case for not repaying Rs 9,000 crore dues to banks was not listed for the last 3 years.
A bench comprising Justices UU Lalit and Ashok Bhushan said: "The Registry to furnish all the details, including names of officials who dealt with the file concerning the Review Petition for the last three years."
The bench said that according to the record placed before it, the review petition was not listed before the court for the last three years. "Before we deal with the submissions raised in the Review Petition, we direct the Registry to explain why the Review Petition was not listed before the court concerned for last three years," said the bench.
The bench ordered that the explanation be furnished within two weeks. "The Review Petition shall, thereafter, be considered on merits," it added.
In May 2017, the apex court had held the liquor baron guilty of contempt of court for transferring $40 million to his children, and ordered him to appear on July 10 to argue on the quantum of punishment.
The contempt petition was filed by a consortium of banks led by the SBI, wherein it was claimed that Mallya transferred the money from Daigeo company to his children's accounts, but did not use this money to clear his debts. The banks said it was a violation of judicial orders.
( With inputs from IANS )