Vijay Mallya's Rs 4,000-cr repayment plan rejected by banks

Vijay Mallya’s Rs 4,000-crore repayment plan was rejected by the banks on Thursday, stating that they cannot forego the principal amount.

The 17-bank consortium told the Supreme Court, which had asked it to reply on the offer a week ago that the offer was unacceptable. They further informed the court that a modified version of proposal was received from Mallya last evening. The said proposal was also rejected by the lenders.

The apex court has now granted Mallya time till April 21 to respond to the banks and submit a token amount to establish bonafides on the said date. It has also asked the industrialist to disclose all the assets and clarify on his plans to return to India and appear in the court. The court will nwo hear the case next on April 26.

Less than half of Rs 4,000 crore is owed by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Kingfisher, which ceased operations in October 2012, owed the banks, mostly state-run, Rs 9,091 crore including interest and fees as of last November, the government has said.

A lawyer for Mallya told the Supreme Court last week that the former billionaire planned to repay Rs 4,000 crore to the banks by September, and Rs 2,000 crore more if Kingfisher wins a lawsuit seeking damages from a plane engine-maker.

Mallya, once known as the "King of Good Times", left India on March 2 as Kingfisher's creditor banks stepped up pressure on him. His whereabouts since then have not been disclosed.