New Delhi: Facing a string of accusations ranging from money laundering to loan fraud, beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya, who is wanted by Indian banks for billions in unpaid loans tendered his resignation as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The liquor baron’s resignation letter on Monday came just as the Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha was preparing to expel him from Parliament. The final decision on the resignation letter will be announced by the Chairman Hamid Ansari after seeking a view of the House.
Mallya, who is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate for loan fraud and money laundering, has defended himself saying he is not a defaulter and wants to settle with banks. Hours after resigning from the Rajya Sabha Mallya also tweeted that he was ‘not a defaulter’ and that the media should ‘check facts’ before running any story.
“Agree Kingfisher Air owes money to Banks. I am neither a borrower or a judgement debtor. Why am I a defaulter inspite of a settlement offer?” Mallya tweeted.
“In all humility and not in defiance as they report, I would like Indian media to check and verify facts before calling me a defaulter,” his another tweet reads.
Mallya, an Independent member from Karnataka, sent his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. He also sent a letter to Rajya Sabha Ethics Committee Chairman Karan Singh.
Here is the full text of Mallya’s letter:
Dr, Karan Singh,
Chairman
Committee on Ethics
Rajya Sabha
127, Parliament House
New Delhi- 110001
Dear Dr. Singh,
I have received your letter dated 2 th April, 2016.
At the outset, I must express my deep anguish and disappointment that my colleagues in the Rajya Sabha, some of whom I have now known and diligently worked with for nearly a decade over my two terms as an elected member of the Upper House, have chosen to be swayed and taken in by the derogatory, and often blatantly false media frenzy and hysteria needlessly created in recent times against me personally. That I am facing trial by media and a lynch mob mentality is all too apparent.
I shall now deal with your letter.
As Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha (“Ethics Committee”) you have communicated to me that an allegedly unanimous decision was taken at a meeting allegedly held on (2???? Th) April, 2016 to the effect that the non-reflection of my alleged default in repayment of bank loans of about Rs. 9,431.60 crores in my declarations of Assets and Liabilities warrants my expulsion from the Rajya Sabha.
Firstly, to the best of my knowledge the power of (a) disqualification from membership of either House of Parliament, (b) expulsion of a member from either House of Parliament is provided for only under Article 102 and Article 105(3) respectively of the Constitution of India. As observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India “the legislative organs in India, both Parliament and the State Legislatures, are completely subservient to, and controlled by, the written provisions of the Constitution of India in regard to the composition and the regulation of the membership thereof and cannot claim the privilege of providing for or regulating their own constitution.
On a mere perusal of your letter, it is self evident that that the Ethics Committee is not seeking to disqualify me under the provisions of Article 102 of the Constitution. At any rate, the provisions of Article 102 of the Constitution are not attracted in my case, notwithstanding the arbitrary and unreasonable revocation of my passport.
In so far as Article 105(3) of the Constitution is concerned, it is now well settled by repeated pronouncements of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India that the expulsion of members of either House of Parliament under Article 105(3) of the Constitution can “only be sustained if their actions have caused obstructions to legislative functions or are likely to cause the same”. I respectfully submit that
my alleged dues to banks or the alleged non-reflection thereof in my declarations of Assets and Liabilities cannot and do not tantamount to causing or likely to cause any obstructions to the legislative functions, and hence, cannot form the basis of my attempted expulsion.
Moreover, in the several instances of expulsion of members of Parliament in India cited by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Amarinder Singh case, the purported expulsion was effected either by the Privileges Committee or a Committee appointed by Parliament to inquire into the particular case.* Thus, I respectfully submit that the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha does not have the power or authority to examine or consider my expulsion on any grounds.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, and in any event, it is apparent that the complete and accurate facts have not been placed before the Ethics Committee by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance. The fact of the matter is that much prior to the Consortium of Banks which had advanced loans to Kingfisher Airlines Limited (“KFA”) recalling those loans, in or about March, 2013 I along with others, filed Suit No. 311 of 2013 in the Hon ble Bombay High Court, inter alia, seeking a declaration that the personal guarantee dated 21st December, 2010 executed by me in favour of the Consortium of Banks was void ab initio and non-est on the ground that it was executed by me under coercion. The said suit is still pending, and hence, the matter is sub-judice. It is on this basis that I am contesting the application filed by the Consortium of Banks, inter alia, against me before the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Bengaluru (”DRT”) seeking a decree against me. In fact, by an order dated 26fh April, 2016 (post your letter and the alleged decision of the Ethics Committee), the Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed the DRT “to dispose of Original Application No. 766 of 2013 and in any case with in the two months from the date of receipt of this order by the Tribunal”. In the circumstances, it is clear that the so called liability that the Ethics Committee refers to is heavily contested and denied by me in pending legal proceedings before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court as well as the DRT, and hence, there is crystallized liability/debt finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be due from me to the Consortium of Banks. The question therefore of me reflecting an alleged liability in my declaration of Assets and Liabilities does not and cannot arise, and I maintain that my declarations are complete and accurate.
Whilst I am confident and convinced that there is no tenable basis for the so called unanimous decision reached by the Ethics Committee, I have no faith that in the current climate prevailing in the country that I will get any justice even at the hands of my colleagues in the Ethics Committee, and hence, I no longer wish my good name to be further needlessly dragged in the mud. Accordingly, I am simulataneously addressing a letter to the honorable chairman of the Rajya Sabha tendering my resignation as a member of the Rajya Sabha. I believe this action on my part is in keeping with the highest standards of ethics that any member of parliament should and ought to emulate.
Yours sincerely,
Vijay Mallya
