In Brief
Dr. Vijay Mallya was convicted of contempt of court for wilfully disbursing US$ 40 million in violation of High Court restraint orders and his undertakings to the Supreme Court. The funds were transferred to trusts benefiting his children without disclosing the transaction. The Court held that the Supreme Court can exercise contempt jurisdiction over violations of subordinate court orders when dealing with related proceedings. The Court imposed a four-month sentence and a fine of Rs. 2,000, and crucially, declared the disputed transactions void and inoperative, directing recovery of the transferred amounts with 8% interest within four weeks. The judgment emphasizes that purging contempt requires undoing the wrong and disgorging all ill-gotten benefits, not merely serving a sentence.
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