Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 11: Vijay Mallya was awarded four months in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 by the Supreme Court for a 2017 contempt of court case. He was convicted of contempt in 2017 over transferring $40 million to his children in violation of court orders. The fine is to be deposited within four weeks to the Supreme Court legal services authority, failing which a further sentence of two months will be added, the court said. "To uphold the majesty of justice, we must impose adequate punishment," judges said.

The Supreme Court dubbed the transaction of 40 million dollars by Vijay Mallya to his children as 'void and inoperable', ordering the recipients to return the amount with 8 percent interest to the recovery officer within four weeks. If the amount is not returned, Vijay Mallya's properties can be attached.

"If this is not deposited, the recovery officer can take appropriate actions for recovery of the said amount and the government of India and all agencies should assist in that process," the court order said.

A bench of Justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha passed the order.

A plea by a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) sought contempt action and a direction to Vijay Mallya to deposit $40 million received from offshore firm Diageo.

Banks had alleged that Vijay Mallya concealed the facts and diverted the money to his son Siddharth Mallya and daughters Leanna Mallya and Tanya Mallya in 'flagrant violation' of the orders passed by the Karnataka High Court. Vijay Mallya is an accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.