Mallya has no change of heart, law is catching up: BJP
New Delhi, June 27 : The BJP on Wednesday said Vijay Mallya has had no change of heart and he was not willing to clear his loans as the law was catching up with the fugitive liquor baron.
"This is not a change of heart that he wants to repay the money (to banks) but the fact is that the law is catching up with those who felt entitled to play with the law," spokesperson Sambit Patra told the media.
Mallya, facing a Rs 9,000 crore Kingfisher Airline loan default case, on Tuesday made public a letter he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 saying he wanted to pay up his dues but had been made the "poster boy" of bank default.
Patra said the corrupt with 'benami' (unaccounted) properties were feeling the heat as the government was bringing in strict laws like the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
He compared the letter by Mallya to Modi with the one the tycoon had written to Manmohan Singh when he was the Prime Minister in 2011 and said while the letter to Modi expressed his unhappiness, the one to Singh thanked him for extending support.
"In his letter to Modi, Mallya said he was unhappy due to CBI, SFIU and ED investigating his case making him a poster boy of bank defaults and public anger. But the one to Manmohan Singh thanked him for facilitating a loan of Rs 550 crore," Patra said.
The BJP leader said the Congress gave him loans but the BJP was working to recover it by seizing his properties and this was making him unhappy.
"Mallya has travelled a long way from the king of good times during the UPA era to becoming the poster boy of bank default and corruption," he said.
Patra questioned Congress President Rahul Gandhi, whose brother-in-law Robert Vadra had been charged with tax evasion. The Income Tax department had served Vadra and his company Sky Light Hospitality a notice to pay Rs 25 crore.
Vadra had disclosed an income of Rs 37 lakh in 2010-11, while a re-evaluation by the IT department said the total income for the financial year was Rs 43 crore.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
