Banks plea Supreme Court to stop Vijay Mallya from leaving India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear tomorrow a plea filed by a consortium of 17 PSU banks seeking a direction that industrialist Vijay Mallya be restrained from leaving India. [caption id=“attachment_2662446” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vijay Mallya. Reuters[/caption] “List it for hearing tomorrow,” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said, when Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for PSU banks, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing. Rohatgi said that the plea has been moved by 17 banks, including State Bank of India, against Mallya whose various firms have taken loan from them. Mallya owes Rs 7,000 crore to these banks. The plea has come in the background of Mallya’s resignation from the chairmanship of United Spirits last week. Diageo, the current owner of the liquor company, has agreed to pay $75 million or Rs 515 crore to Mallya as severance package. Soon after he signed the agreement with Diageo, Mallya had said that he plans “to spend more time in England, closer to my children”, indicating he may be moving out of the country. Subsequently, State Bank of India moved the Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal seeking his arrest and first right of the severance package. The bank also sought to impound Mallya’s passport. The move comes a day after the debt recovery tribunal in Bangalore told Diagoe With PTI