Bengaluru: The Debt Recovery Tribunal on Friday reserved its order on state-run SBI's application seeking securement of the lenders' first right on the USD 75 million payout from Diageo to UB Group promoter Vijay Mallya under a recent sweetheart deal.
The State Bank of India has filed three other applications including one seeking arrest of Mallya and impounding of his passport, as the bank approached DRT seeking action against him for defaulting on loans.
SBI, which heads the consortium of 17 lenders to the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, had moved DRT here against the airline's chairman Mallya in its bid to recover over Rs 7,000-crore dues from him.
DRT judge Benakanahalli, on priority basis, took up the application for securing a first right on the USD 75 million severance package that Mallya will be getting for quitting Diageo-owned United Spirits (USL) as its Chairman last week under a sweetheart deal.
The judge said other three applications - seeking impounding of Mallya's passport, getting him arrested and getting full disclosure of his assets in the country and abroad - will be heard later.
"For now, I am taking up the application seeking to secure lenders' first right on the payout from Diageo on priority basis. I will take up other applications later," he said.
Earlier, after filing the objections before DRT, Mallya's counsel Uday Holla submitted that USD 75 million cannot be attached because his client is getting the severance package after signing a non-compete agreement under which he would not enter into liquor business for next five years.
On the application seeking Mallya's arrest, Holla said such an action would tantamount to demeaning the institution of Rajya Sabha because he is a "respected member" of the Upper House.
Holla also claimed his client was a "small-time" defaulter unlike companies like Reliance who he claimed are bigger defaulters, and the banks were hounding the small defaulters and leaving big defaulters off the hook.
"Recently the RBI had said that these banks do not take action against large fries, but small fries. My client Mallya is a small defaulter compared to Ambani's Reliance. Some of the companies have defaulted to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore, and nothing happens to them," he claimed.
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