Judge Michael Briggs announced, “As at 15.42 [UK time], I shall adjudicate Dr Mallya bankrupt.”
On Monday, a British court awarded Vijay Mallya a bankruptcy judgement which cleared paths for a syndicate of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to demand recovery of outstanding debt by the now Kingfisher Airlines through a global restraining judgement.
During an online trial of the High Court’s Chancery Division, Chief Insolvencies and Companies Court (ICC) Judge Michael Briggs announced, “As at 15.42 [UK time], I shall adjudicate Dr Mallya bankrupt.”
“There is insufficient evidence that [Mallya’s asset realizations in India] will pay the debt in full within a reasonable period of time,” Judge Briggs said, referring to defence justifications that a recovery process in India following a Prevention of Money Laundering Act, would pay the entire debts within a specified period.
The judge added, “In my judgment, the sums provided to date are conditional – there is no evidence Dr Mallya will return to India to deal with the criminal trial and seek to unlock the allocation of realizations which have been made”.
During Monday’s session, Judge Briggs asked Mallya’s lawyer, Philip Marshall, whether there’s any “indication” that his man planned to travel to India to address the criminal trials. Marshall responded that there was none.
The Indian bank’s defendant, TLT LLP and lawyer Marcia Shekerdemian justified that the bankruptcy order be issued on their behalf since they have to receive more than GBP 1 billion.
The long-running court fight will reach its third birthday in September this year.
What happens now?
When a bankruptcy decision gets passed in the United Kingdom, all of the bankrupt’s earnings are automatically vested in a Trustee in Bankruptcy.
Their job is to scrutinize the bankrupt’s dealings and determine their natural assets and debts, sell necessary resources and repay the bankrupt’s investors.
The group of banks to which Mallya owes money are Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India, and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt Ltd.
