Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges, has discontinued his application to annul a UK bankruptcy order, allowing Indian banks to continue pursuing his overseas assets in connection with debts owed by his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
The decision came ahead of a planned High Court hearing in London, which was vacated after Mallya’s legal team filed a notice of discontinuance last week.
⚖️ Banks Free to Continue Asset Recovery
The move effectively enables the Trustee in Bankruptcy to proceed unhindered with efforts to recover assets belonging to Mallya, in order to repay an estimated £1.05 billion judgment debt owed to a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
In a statement, UK law firm TLT LLP, which represents the banks, confirmed:
“Vijay Mallya’s Trustee in Bankruptcy will be able to continue their work in investigating and realising assets falling within his bankruptcy estate without any hindrance that this application might have caused.”
This development follows Justice Anthony Mann’s ruling in April 2025, which upheld the bankruptcy order originally issued over four years ago.
“The bottom line is that the bankruptcy order stands,” Justice Mann had concluded.
🏛️ Background: The Kingfisher Debt Case
Mallya’s bankruptcy case stems from loans issued to Kingfisher Airlines, which collapsed in 2012, leaving behind large unpaid debts.
In 2017, the banks registered an Indian Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) judgment in the UK courts, enforcing a personal guarantee Mallya had given for those loans.
Subsequently, in 2018, the banks served Mallya with a bankruptcy petition, leading to a series of hearings and a final bankruptcy order in July 2021. Since then, multiple appeals and legal challenges have been filed by Mallya’s legal team, including attempts to annul or suspend the bankruptcy order.
📉 Annulment Application Withdrawn
Mallya, represented by Zaiwalla & Co., had been seeking to annul the bankruptcy on grounds that the banks had already recovered portions of the debt in India. However, his related writ petition in India, requesting banks to disclose the extent of recoveries made, has not progressed, leading to the discontinuation of his annulment plea in the UK.
Sources indicate that Mallya may still consider a fresh annulment application at a later date, depending on the outcome of ongoing proceedings in India.
🚨 Extradition Status
Separately, Mallya remains on bail in the UK while a “confidential legal matter” — widely believed to be related to an asylum application — is being resolved. India’s extradition request, approved by the UK government, remains pending until that matter is concluded.
💬 The Road Ahead
For now, the UK bankruptcy order against Mallya stands firm, clearing the way for Indian banks to continue tracing and recovering his global assets.
With the annulment application dropped, the focus shifts back to the ongoing recovery proceedings and India’s efforts to bring Mallya back to face trial in connection with the Kingfisher Airlines loan default and fraud case.
Vijay Mallya Withdraws UK Bankruptcy Annulment Plea; Indian Banks Free to Pursue £1 Billion Debt Recovery
Vijay Mallya withdraws his UK bankruptcy annulment application, allowing SBI-led Indian banks to continue recovering £1.05 billion in assets from the Kingfisher Airlines debt case. Vijay Mallya UK bankruptcy, Kingfisher Airlines debt, SBI consortium, London High Court, Mallya extradition case, UK bankruptcy order.
