Vijay Mallya cries foul over 'mistreatment' by lenders

NEW DELHI: Businessman Vijay Mallya told the Supreme Court that he had offered to settle his dues with banks but they were not willing to take it. Mallya, who lenders claim owe them Rs 9,000 crore in outstanding loans and interest, said he was being treated worse than a terrorist, though he was facing only a civil case.

“This man has been made a poster boy of defrauding. Even the worst criminal … a terrorist, is entitled to all protection of the law. Here it is a civil default,” Mallya’s advocate CS Vaidyanathan argued at the court on Thursday.

The case was recently shifted to a bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and UU Lalit from one comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman.

Justice Lalit asked Mallya’s lawyer what he had done to purge himself of contempt after the previous bench had issued a contempt notice against him.

The notice was issued after banks said while disclosing details of his assets as directed by the court, Mallya didn’t reveal a $40 million payout he received from liquor maker Diageo for stepping down from the board of its local unit, United Spirits.