A Delhi court on Saturday cancelled the exemption granted to liquor baron Vijay Mallya from personal appearance in a case lodged for allegedly evading summons in connection with a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) violation case.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass directed Mallya to personally appear before it on 9 September.
The exemption from personal appearance was granted to Mallya in December 2000, regarding a complaint filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) for evading the summons issued to him.
The agency had issued summons to the businessman in connection with alleged payment of $200,000 to a British firm, Benetton Formula Ltd, for displaying the Kingfisher logo in Formula One World Championships in London and some European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
The agency had claimed that the money was allegedly paid without prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in violation of FERA norms.
The order came on a plea of the ED, filed through prosecutor NK Matta, which had also sought issuance of non-bailable warrant against the chairman of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines to secure his presence in the ongoing trial of the case, which is now in its final stage.
The agency’s plea had said that Mallya was reported to be in the United Kingdom and his presence in the ongoing trial of this case was essential. It had sought the court’s direction to order him to remain personally present in every hearing.
Matta had argued that the court should recall its December 2000 exemption order as a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai has recently issued an open-ended warrant against him in connection with a money-laundering case.
According to the ED, Mallya was summoned on four occasions for questioning in connection with the case.
When Mallya failed to appear before ED in response to the summons, a complaint was filed on 8 March 2000 before a court, and later on charges against him under FERA.
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