SBI LAWYER CALLS VIJAY MALLYA ‘SHAMELESS’, HEATED ARGUMENT IN DRT

engaluru: Debt Recovery Tribunal today witnessed a heated argument that ensued after counsel for consortium of banks led by SBI called some defendants, including Vijay Mallya, “shameless” over the issue of disclosure of the balance sheets in the case.

DRT’s Presiding Officer, C R Benakanahalli, the counsel for bankers, assailed the defendants, including Mallya, owner of United Breweries Holdings Limited and Kingfisher Airlines Limited, saying, “If you (defendants) want to prove our charges of fraud wrong, you should disclose the balance sheets. It has not been done and we have to deal with such persons- they are shameless,” while taking up the three Interlocutory Applications (IAs) of Kingfisher Finvest.

As a counter, Sajan Poovaiah, counsel for Kingfisher Finvest, hit back at bankers’ counsel, saying the bankers have been shameful in their endeavours to give loans to Mallya even after he had defaulted. “I object to the unparliamentary words used by bankers’ counsel. If he resorts such a language I will also give it back in the same coin,” Poovaiah said.

“In fact it has been the bankers who are shameless, who doled out money belonging to the people, to a person who had [already] defaulted in repaying loans. And they did not take due diligence in recovering loans. I appeal to the tribunal to direct the bankers counsel to take back the word,” he said. 

As a counter submission, bankers’ counsel said he used the unparliamentary words not against Kingfisher Finvest but other defendants. Poovaiah earlier asked the tribunal to dismiss bankers’ plea seeking ‘Lifting of Corporate Veil’ by arguing that the original application did not mention it. The bankers had besought before the DRT for Lifting of Corporate Veil to pierce the protection against personal liability enjoyed by individuals controlling the company.

The doctrine of Lifting of Corporate Veil means disregarding the corporate personality and looking behind the veil towards the persons controlling the company. Vijay Mallya, whose now-defunct group company Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) to 17 banks, had left the country on March 2 and is currently living in UK.

The article first published on www.lafdatv.com