Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Bombay HC says Vijay Mallya asset dispute should end
A man named Vijay Mallya used to own an airline company called Kingfisher Airlines.
The airline borrowed a lot of money from banks and could not pay it all back.
The banks are led by the State Bank of India, and a special agency called the Enforcement Directorate had taken away some of Mallya's valuable things.
In 2019, a special court allowed the banks to use those taken things to recover their money.
Mallya asked the Bombay High Court to stop this, filing his request in 2020.
Now the Bombay High Court says the banks have already recovered most of their money, about 15,000 crore rupees.
So the court thinks the argument over this dispute should be brought to an end so everyone can move on.
But the court also says Mallya still has to face separate criminal cases, which must be taken to their logical end.
He has been living in the United Kingdom since 2016, and there are separate proceedings about sending him back to India.
The Bombay High Court sought responses from SBI and the Enforcement Directorate on Vijay Mallya's 2020 plea challenging a 2019 PMLA court order allowing banks to use confiscated assets for loan recovery.
Mallya's lawyer Amit Desai argued the petition had become redundant, with banks recovering approximately ₹15,000 crore against original claimed dues of about ₹6,203 crore.
Justice Milind Jadhav indicated the commercial dispute should be put to an end, saying the issue needs to be brought to a close so relations and the economy of the country do not suffer.
The court asked the ED to file an affidavit confirming whether the settlement process has been completed, and the matter will next be heard on September 9.
The court clarified that closing the civil or commercial dispute would not affect criminal proceedings against Mallya, which must be taken to their logical end.
- Who
- Vijay Mallya, his senior advocate Amit Desai, Justice Milind Jadhav of the Bombay High Court, the SBI-led bank consortium, and the Enforcement Directorate
- What
- A hearing on Mallya's 2020 petition challenging a 2019 PMLA court order that permitted banks to recover Kingfisher Airlines dues from confiscated assets, which the court indicated is now redundant
- When
- Wednesday, 12 August, during a Bombay High Court hearing
- Where
- Bombay High Court, Mumbai, India; Mallya has remained in the United Kingdom since March 2016 amid extradition proceedings
- Why
- Because most of the assets identified in the original proceedings have already been attached and dealt with, and Mallya's lawyer argues the civil liabilities are effectively settled
Mallya's defense
Banks and prosecution
Closing the commercial dispute
Mallya's defense
Mallya's lawyer argues the 2020 petition is redundant because banks recovered about ₹15,000 crore against claimed dues of about ₹6,203 crore, and that public sector banks keeping the matter pending is unfortunate.
Banks and prosecution
The court indicated the dispute needs to be put to an end so relations and the economy of the country do not suffer, and asked the Enforcement Directorate to confirm in an affidavit whether the settlement process has been completed.
Criminal proceedings
Mallya's defense
Mallya's side cites an RBI audit characterising the matter as an airline's business failure and argues the amount banks have recovered should suffice.
Banks and prosecution
The court maintained that criminal proceedings against Mallya must still be taken to their logical end, independent of any closure of the civil or commercial dispute.
- Court
- Bombay High Court
- Presiding judge
- Justice Milind Jadhav
- Petition filed
- January 2020
- Challenged order
- 2019 Special PMLA Court order permitting use of confiscated assets
- Original claimed dues
- about ₹6,203 crore (reported as ₹6,203.35 crore excluding interest by one article)
- Amount recovered by banks
- approximately ₹15,000 crore
- Next hearing
- September 9
- Mallya declared fugitive economic offender
- January 2019
