Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Mallya's Plea Challenging Enforcement Directorate’s Confiscation Of His Properties
[ By Bobby Anthony ]The Supreme Court has agreed to hear fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya’s plea challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) confiscation of properties belonging to companies owned by him and his family members.The court took note of a submission by F S Nariman, who appeared for Mallya, that his fresh plea be heard along with the pending one on the legality of...
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya’s plea challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) confiscation of properties belonging to companies owned by him and his family members.
The court took note of a submission by F S Nariman, who appeared for Mallya, that his fresh plea be heard along with the pending one on the legality of the law as well as the action to confiscate his properties.
Nariman sought adjournment of hearing on the petition questioning confiscation of Mallya’s properties.
Earlier, Mallya had moved the Supreme Court of India challenging the decision of the Enforcement Directorate to confiscate all his properties.
In his plea, Mallya stated that he was questioning the power conferred on ED under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, to confiscate all his properties without assessing whether or not the properties under confiscation were part of the alleged “proceeds of crime”.
His petition challenged the constitutional validity of the arbitrary powers conferred upon authorities under the FEO Act and that it was absolutely crucial for him to get a decision on this issue from the Supreme Court, since the Bombay High Court had refused to grant him relief.
Mallya’s petition stated though his challenge to the constitutional validity of the FEO Act is pending before the Bombay High Court, it refused his plea for interim stay on confiscation of all properties of companies owned by him and his family members, besides the return of those properties which do not relate to Kingfisher Airlines' irregularities.
His petition claimed that the ED had passed provisional attachment order on June 11, 2016 for properties owned by United Breweries Holding Ltd, some of which were acquired as far back as 1919.
In September 2016, the ED passed a second provisional attachment order to seize properties owned by companies controlled by Mallya's family members, his petition stated.