New Delhi, (thestates.news) : Supreme Court has sentenced fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to four months’ imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional imprisonment of two months. A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit also ordered Mallya to pay the $40 million transferred abroad in four weeks.The Court had reserved the verdict on March 10. On February 10, Court had given Vijay Mallya a last chance to present his case. On January 24, the court had said that whether the convict is extradited or not, there will be no more waiting for the decision on the sentence.The convict can present his case through his lawyer.
The court had appointed Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta as amicus curiae to assist the court. During the hearing, Ministry of External Affairs told the Supreme Court that the extradition proceedings of Mallya are in the final stages.
On August 31, 2020, Mallya’s review petition against the conviction in the contempt case was dismissed. Court had directed the Home Ministry to ensure Mallya’s presence. On May 9, 2017, the Supreme Court found him guilty for transferring $40 million of Diego deal to his children’s accounts and non-disclosure of assets. Mallya had filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the same decision. Mallya has filed another petition in the Supreme Court against the action initiated by the ED to confiscate his assets in India. The review petition was not before the judges for a long time, due to which the court had also sought a reply from its registry.(H.S.)
