Vijay Mallya's ₹6,200 Cr Dues vs ₹15,000 Cr Recovery Claim; Bombay HC Seeks Clarity from Banks

The Bombay High Court has indicated that the long-running commercial dispute between Vijay Mallya and a consortium of banks should now move towards closure, after his counsel submitted that lenders had recovered approximately ₹15,000 crore against an original claim of ₹6,203 crore, including interest.

According to the court order dated August 12, Justice Milind N Jadhav was hearing Mallya's 2020 application challenging a December 2019 order of a special court in Mumbai. The earlier order had permitted the bank consortium to utilise assets seized in proceedings involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for debt recovery.

The High Court noted that Mallya's application had come up for hearing for the first time after old shelf matters were directed to be listed.

Mallya Cites Recoveries, Seeks Closure

Appearing for Mallya, senior advocate Amit Desai told the court that significant developments had taken place since the application was filed in 2020.

According to the court order, Desai submitted that most assets identified and attached by the ED had already been dealt with and the issue, which he described as a commercial dispute, required closure.

He further submitted that Mallya's civil liabilities had effectively been settled, claiming that the bank consortium had recovered about ₹15,000 crore compared with the original claim of "₹6,203 odd crores including interest".

The court, however, said this position would need to be ascertained and confirmed by the respondents.

After Desai made submissions about the recoveries and the developments since 2020, Justice Jadhav orally observed that the matter required closure.

"The Indian Govt must file an affidavit stating that everything is done and dusted... as a closure is required, at least for such commercial litigation," he said, as per LiveLaw.

The judge also orally said that such disputes should be brought to an end as they had continued for almost a decade.

"Actually this (Commercial Dispute between Mallya and Banks) issue needs to be put an end... The relations of both the countries get affected... Commercial disputes give answers in the dispute itself... The idea is to move on otherwise the economics of the country gets suffered..." Justice Jadhav orally observed, as per LiveLaw.

SBI And ED Asked To Respond

In its written order, the High Court issued notice to SBI, the lead bank, and the Deputy Director of the ED to place on record their position on Mallya's submissions and developments in the related ECIR case.

The court clarified that it would decide the further course of action, including whether notices were required to other respondents, after hearing the ED.

Mallya has also been allowed to file an additional affidavit detailing developments since 2020, while SBI was directed to provide him a copy of its affidavit in reply.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 9, 2026.