Banks to take over Mallya's Goa villa by month end
MANJU AB/DNA, MUMBAI | 08 July 2015 21:34 IST
Banks are gearing up to take possession of Vijay Mallya's palatial villa in Goa by the month-end.
A hearing with the district commissioner is scheduled for July 11, after which bankers are expected to take possession of the property situated near Calangute beach, in Candolim village.
A senior banker in the consortium said, "There is a lot of pressure from the government and also the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ring-fence the high-value defaulters. So naturally, the judiciary will also have to act within certain timeframes so that cases do not get prolonged for long and bankers get back their dues. For economic progress and for banks to play an important part in the process, bank's money should be secure and not pilfered out by defaults and frauds."
When contacted by dna, Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson Sumanto Bhattacharya refused to comment on the matter.
Another senior bank official who is directly monitoring the case said, "We are expecting to clear the litigation by the end of this month, and proceed with the possession. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had given lenders the nod to take possession of Kingfisher Villa last year. But Mallya employed delaying tactics by claiming that his group company United Spirits Ltd (USL) was a tenant in the property since 2005. But the documents like the electricity bill and the water bills are not stamped."
The banker added that the consortium has sought permission from the chief judicial magistrate of Goa to take possession of the villa under the Sarfaesi Act. "We are expecting a favourable decision from the court."
The district magistrate had admitted the plea of USL against State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders but bankers say that the petition is likely to be disposed of, and bankers are likely to get their dues. Citing the Portuguese Civil Code, USL has taken the matter to a local court, requesting it to block the auction of the property by banks.
Meanwhile, bankers will shortly auction the Kingfisher House at Jogeshwari after having reached at an agreement with the income-tax department who had laid claims to the proceeds. A senior bank official said, "We will be proceeding with the auction of the Kingfisher House and some of the IT claims also will be settled."
Kingfisher Airlines, grounded since October 2012, owes over Rs 7,000 crore to bankers who have been trying to recover their money by selling securities pledged by the firm. These include real estate properties and shares in group entities. Banks so far have managed to sell about 4 lakh shares of United Spirits for Rs 104 crore last year.
People like Mallya belong to Jail. And come IPL, those Banglorees and some of our goans will dance at the tunes of this man. He is a jerk. If it was any other country, he would have already been inside of a dungeon.