<p align="justify">The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union home ministry to ensure the presence of elusive industrialist Vijay Mallya before it on July 10.</p>.<p align="justify">The court gave Mallya an opportunity to present his arguments on the quantum of sentence. A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit held Mallya, promoter of now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, guilty of contempt of court. <br /><br />The bench had convicted him on two counts — violating the apex court order on full disclosure of assets, and the Karnataka High Court’s restraint orders of 2013 against transferring his assets.<br /><br />“The violation by Respondent No 3 (Mallya) could not be termed as a mere infraction. The violation by Respondent No 3 regarding non-disclosure becomes more pronounced because it is this very account held in Edmond De Rothschild Bank that was utilised to transmit funds to the tune of $40 million,” the bench said in a detailed judgement on Thursday.<br /><br />The SBI-led consortium of banks, seeking repayment of a Rs 9,400-crore loan, has sought contempt action against Mallya for “deliberate attempt to flout court orders”.<br /><br />The court noted that about $40 million received by Mallya from Diageo Plc was transferred to three trusts whose sole beneficiaries were his son Siddarth Mallya and daughters Leena and Tanya Mallya.<br /><br />“The explanation that the funds now stand transferred in favour of the trusts over which Respondent No 3 has no control at all, in fact, aggravates the extent of violation. It is clear that the funds which were in control of Respondent No 3 have now been sought to be put beyond the reach of processes of court, which is reflective of the intent,” the bench said.<br /><br />The court also noted that neither has Mallya filed any reply to the contempt petition nor did he appear in person. <br /><br />“Though we have found him guilty of having committed contempt of court, we deem it necessary to give him one more opportunity and also hear him on the proposed punishment,” the bench said, issuing direction to the home ministry to secure and ensure his presence before the court on July 10.</p>
<p align="justify">The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union home ministry to ensure the presence of elusive industrialist Vijay Mallya before it on July 10.</p>.<p align="justify">The court gave Mallya an opportunity to present his arguments on the quantum of sentence. A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit held Mallya, promoter of now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, guilty of contempt of court. <br /><br />The bench had convicted him on two counts — violating the apex court order on full disclosure of assets, and the Karnataka High Court’s restraint orders of 2013 against transferring his assets.<br /><br />“The violation by Respondent No 3 (Mallya) could not be termed as a mere infraction. The violation by Respondent No 3 regarding non-disclosure becomes more pronounced because it is this very account held in Edmond De Rothschild Bank that was utilised to transmit funds to the tune of $40 million,” the bench said in a detailed judgement on Thursday.<br /><br />The SBI-led consortium of banks, seeking repayment of a Rs 9,400-crore loan, has sought contempt action against Mallya for “deliberate attempt to flout court orders”.<br /><br />The court noted that about $40 million received by Mallya from Diageo Plc was transferred to three trusts whose sole beneficiaries were his son Siddarth Mallya and daughters Leena and Tanya Mallya.<br /><br />“The explanation that the funds now stand transferred in favour of the trusts over which Respondent No 3 has no control at all, in fact, aggravates the extent of violation. It is clear that the funds which were in control of Respondent No 3 have now been sought to be put beyond the reach of processes of court, which is reflective of the intent,” the bench said.<br /><br />The court also noted that neither has Mallya filed any reply to the contempt petition nor did he appear in person. <br /><br />“Though we have found him guilty of having committed contempt of court, we deem it necessary to give him one more opportunity and also hear him on the proposed punishment,” the bench said, issuing direction to the home ministry to secure and ensure his presence before the court on July 10.</p>
