Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, Jan 26: A Delhi court has issued non-bailable warrant against liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya for not being present at the time of hearing in a case of dishonoured cheques by a finance company, which he claimed he had quit much before the incident.
Metropolitan Magistrate Vikas Dhull issued the non-bailable warrant for August 10, against Mallya, Chairman of UB Group, in connection with two cheques for Rs 493 and Rs 379 issued by Krest Finlease Ltd way back in 1998.
However, the UB Group, in a statement maintained that Mallya had resigned from the Board of the company, which was earlier known as McDowell Krest Finance Ltd as early as March 20, 1997 in the midst of the divestment of UB group.
The company was subsequently taken over by one Rayudu Group consequent to the disinvestment, the statement said.
"The UB Group has no knowledge about the case in question much less the possibility of Vijay Mallya having signed a cheque warranting an action leading to the present development. Mallya in fact left the company's Board in March 1997, a year before the issue of the cheque in question," the UB statement said.
The court had earlier on January 12 summoned Mallya for January 23 in his capacity as the Chairman of the Mc Dowell Krest Finance Ltd, the Chennai-based company, which has been named as an accused along with Manager Piyush Srivastav.
The action came on a complaint filed by Mahadevi who claimed she had made a fixed deposit of Rs 30,000 with the company in 1997 allegedly induced by a promise of higher interest rates.