Absconder Vijay Mallya gets relief from UK High Court

London: The High Court in London has deferred a hearing on a petition filed by the SBI-led Consortium of Indian Banks, seeking to declare the debtor bankrupt and recover loan debts from him, amounting to around Rs 108.6 crore.

Justice Michael Briggs of the Bankruptcy Division of the High Court, while granting relief to Mallya, ruled that he should be given time till his petitions come up for hearing in the Supreme Court of India and set a resolution for his disposal before the Karnataka High Court, to pay him time for the repayment of full debt to the Banks.

In his judgment delivered on Thursday, Judge Briggs of the Chief Insolvency and Company Court said that at this time, there is no clear benefit for the banks to pursue this kind of action.

A consortium of Indian public sector banks, led by the State Bank of India, had sought a bankruptcy order against Mallya, as part of efforts to recoup around Rs 108.16 core of unpaid loans from Mallya.

Judge Briggs had reserved his judgment after hearing arguments from both sides in December last year over the loans to Mallya's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.(UNI)