Supreme Court reserves order on sentencing for Vijay Mallya in contempt case

The Supreme Court on March 10 reserved its order on the aspect of quantum of punishment for Vijay Mallya in relation to a contempt of court case.

A division-bench of the court reserved its judgment after hearing submissions from the amicus curiae on the aspect of nature of Mallya’s contempt, provisions under the Contempt of Courts Act, as well as the Supreme Court Rules.

No oral submissions were made on behalf of Mallya. The counsel representing Mallya expressed his inability to get instructions from him.

The court granted one more opportunity to Mallya’s representative to present his case through written submissions tomorrow. The amicus curiae too is allowed time to file written submissions in the case, the court said while reserving its orders following a hearing that lasted for over an hour and a half.

The apex court had found Mallya guilty of contempt of court back in 2017 for making monetary transfers in the accounts of his children in breach of the orders of the top court. Mallya’s conviction for contempt was affirmed when his plea seeking review of the judgment was dismissed.

The case had remained pending on the issue of quantum of punishment to be awarded to Mallya and had faced deferments on multiple occasions on account of Mallya’s non-availability in court in person.

The businessman declared as a fugitive was contesting an extradition case in the UK. While the extradition proceedings stand concluded, a leg of legal proceedings still remain underway against Mallya in the UK. The nature of these proceedings has not been informed to the Indian government, the top court was informed on an earlier occasion.

Mallya’s counsel also remained unavailable to put forth his case before the court despite the apex court affording multiple opportunities. Mallya was given a last chance by the court in February this year to present his submissions before the court, either in person or through a representative.

The court carried out the hearing today but not without taking on record Mallya’s absence from participation in the proceedings.