Vijay Mallya default case: DRT to pass its orders today

Zee Media Bureau

Bengaluru: The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) will on Monday pass orders on government-owned State Bank of India’s (SBI) application seeking lenders’ first right on the USD 75 million payout from Diageo Plc to Vijay Mallya under a recent “sweetheart deal”.

The DRT had reserved its order after hearing submissions made by both parties—bankers and Mallya—on 4 March.

George Joseph, a counsel for bankers, said orders will be passed on Monday.

SBI had filed three other applications, including one seeking Mallya’s arrest and impounding of his passport, as the bank approached the DRT after Mallya defaulted on loans.

The DRT had taken up on priority the application for securing the first right on the USD 75 million severance package. The DRT had said it would hear the other three applications on a later date.

SBI, which leads a consortium of 17 banks that lent money to the discontinued Kingfisher Airlines, had moved the DRT against Mallya in a bid to recover over Rs.7,000 crore from him.