Vijay Mallya pursues reversal of bankruptcy order in UK
London, Jun 28: Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya, who is based in Britain for over five years, is pursuing appeals in the UK courts in an attempt to overturn a bankruptcy order imposed on him by the High Court in London in July last year.
At a case management hearing at the Chancery Division of the High Court in London on Monday, Justice Tom Leech concluded that a set of interlinked hearings in the matter would be heard together.
The case, which involves a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking the repayment of an estimated judgment debt of around GBP 1.05 billion owed by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is now likely to come up in the courts next year.
The 66-year-old businessman, separately wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges, remains on bail in the UK while a confidential legal matter believed to be related to an asylum application is resolved in connection with the unrelated extradition proceedings.
Meanwhile, his lawyers have argued that the Indian banks have been pursuing the same debt against him both in India and the UK.
This week, the court was told the bankruptcy proceedings had damaged Mallya's reputation and failed to take into account the assets already seized in India. Besides Mallya's Bankruptcy Order Appeal and Petition Amendment Appeal , the banks in turn have appealed against parts of a May 2020 order over the security held over some of the businessman's assets.
The Indian banks, represented by the law firm TLT LLP and barrister Marcia Shekerdemian, include State Bank of India, 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.
The hearings in the case date back to May 2018, when the banks were granted a worldwide freezing order (WFO) based on a judgment of the Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal. Since then, there have been a series of hearings in this case which led to a bankruptcy order against Mallya on July 26 last year.
Appeals against that order and related matters remain ongoing and are now expected to come up for hearing in the coming months.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
