Bombay HC dismisses Vijay Mallya's plea seeking stay on ED’s request to declare him fugitive

Mumbai, Nov 22: The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed liquor baron Vijay Mallya's appeal for a stay on proceedings under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

"Bombay HC dismisses Vijay Mallya's appeal where he pleaded for stay on proceedings under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, on pretext that Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange had ordered status quo in r/o attachments in PMLA case against him while adjudicating SBI's plea".

The investigating agency probing financial crime wants Mallya to be declared as a fugitive economic offender and his properties to be confiscated under the new law in connection with a Rs 9,000 crore alleged bank fraud case and sought orders to confiscate all his properties, estimated to be around Rs12,500 crore.

Mallya had filed an application in the lower court seeking a stay on the hearing on the ED's plea till November 26 when the appellate tribunal functioning under the PMLA would hear matters filed by a consortium of banks seeking their dues back.

The special court had on October 30 rejected Mallya's application, following which the liquor baron had approached the high court.

Mallya's counsel Amit Desai Thursday told a division bench of Justices R M Savant and V K Jadhav that his pleas should not be misunderstood as a ploy to run away from the proceedings.

(With PTI inputs)