Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Aug 2: Perhaps taking cue from the case of business tycoon, Vijay Mallya, flying abroad and remaining elusive from the investigation agencies in India who are looking into huge bad loans he has left uncleared in various banks, the state high court (HC) on Tuesday August 1 refused to entertain request made by a person deemed as wilfull defaulter by a few banks, for returning his passport.

The court's decision looked like having been influenced by Vijay Mallya's move in breaking his own assurance of returning home whenever needed, and using various means to hoodwink Indian investigators and courts.

Promoter of S Kumar's, Nitin Shambhu Kumar Kasliwal, had approached the court seeking his passport back. The company has liability of about Rs 6,500 crore to various banks including Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Central Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Uco Bank, and Union Bank of India. All these banks have initiated recovery proceedings for getting back their money.

Uco Bank had declared Nitin a wilfull defaulted in December 2016. Accordingly, Debts Recovery Tribunal has confiscated his passport after following necessary processes. When the plea for passport came up for hearing, the public prosecutor argued that if allowed to fly to a foreign destination, Nitin Shambhu Kumar Kasliwal might follow Vijay Mallya's example and if he does so, banks will be in a soup. The advocate representing the banks put total dues to banks as Rs 6,494 crore will July 2015. If interest is added to it, the due will be much more.

The petitioner's advocate insisted that Debts Recovery Tribunal was not in order in confiscating the passport of his client, duly arguing that the Tribunal simply lacked the right to do that. He pointed out that Nitin was allowed to go abroad even in the past. He also said that his client had complied with the terms set out by the tribunal.

The court said that Kasliwal will not be allowed to fly as long as he remains a defaulter with banks.

S Kumar's is a well-known brand manufacturing quality fabric in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The company, which was doing well, suffered from adverse affects of economic slow down. The company had introduced Reid and Taylor, a popular Scottish brand of fabric in India. The company is going through hard times as banks have sought legal recourse to recover their loans to the company.