Bombay HC warns Vijay Mallya against sharing court documents

"This is not good conduct. This is serious. Please warn him (Mallya)," Justice Jadhav said.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a warning to businessman Vijay Mallya, accused of money laundering, against posting court documents on social media while his case was pending.

Justice Milind Jadhav was informed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer Ashish Mehta that Mallya shared the agency’s affidavit in response to his petition before the HC on his social media accounts even before it was submitted to the court.

The ED filed the affidavit on September 8 and served it to Mallya’s legal team the same day. The case was to be heard on September 9, advocate Mehta told the court.

But the former liquor baron uploaded the affidavit on his social media accounts the same evening, the ED lawyer said.

‘Not good conduct’

Justice Jadhav asked senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, to warn his client not to do so in future.

“This is not good conduct. This is serious. Please warn him (Mallya) against doing so in future. Whatever he wants to submit he can do so in court,” the court said.

“Please make your client understand, this is not the way to do it….it undermines the efficacy of the court,” the judge said.

Mallya filed the petition in 2020 seeking a closure of the criminal cases registered against him, claiming that the dispute with the banks was settled after they recovered their dues.

In its reply, the ED said the businessman continued to evade the process of law in India, and mere recovery of assets did not absolve him from money laundering charges.

Hearing adjourned till Oct 13

The HC on Tuesday adjourned the hearing to October 13 while directing the State Bank of India (SBI) to file its affidavit-in-reply.

According to the ED affidavit, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore (as of August 2021) were handed over to the SBI-led consortium of lender banks.

But this recovery by itself does not cancel or lead to the dropping of the money laundering charges against Mallya who left India in March 2016, the central agency told the HC.

Mallya declared offender in 2016

In November 2016, the businessman was declared a proclaimed offender.

Mallya is accused of money laundering and siphoning off at least Rs 3,500 crore out of the total Rs 9,000 crore of bank loans granted to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The ED attached his properties in 2016. In 2019, a special court permitted SBI and other lenders to use these movable properties for debt recovery. The assets included United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) shares.

Mallya challenged this before the High Court in 2020.