File photo of Vijay Mallya.
A local court on Thursday said it will pronounce on May 9 its order on the quantum of sentence for embattled industrialist Vijay Mallya, who was convicted in two cheque bounce cases filed against him by the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
On April 20, the III Special Magistrate Court had convicted Mr Mallya and others, in connection with bouncing of two cheques of Rs 50 lakh each under relevant sections of Negotiable Instruments Act and had adjourned on Thursday the matter to pronounce the quantum of punishment, as Mr Mallya, who left the country, was not present in the court.
The matter relates to cheques issued by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) which operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, towards charges for using the facilities at the airport for its Kingfisher Airlines flights.
During hearing on quantum of sentence, GMR lawyer G Ashok Reddy today insisted that the court pass the sentence against Mallya citing certain provisions of CrPC saying the court has power to impose sentence even in absence of accused.
"It is a known fact that he (Vijay Mallya) has fled the country and his passport has been revoked and he has also resigned from the post of Rajya Sabha lawmaker. He has never marked his presence before the court which shows the conduct of the accused," Mr Reddy submitted.
In view of this, there is no point in waiting for the accused (to be heard), he said and argued that this court need not wait for accused presence (for sentence) and sought for awarding maximum sentence of two years and also to impose fine under relevant sections of Negotiable Instruments Act.
After hearing the arguments, the III Special Magistrate Court Judge M Krishna Rao said, "Now, the counsel for complainant submitted that in view of provisions under section 353 CrPC, the court need not wait for hearing the accused before passing sentence and hence, the court has to pass sentence against the accused as per provisions of sub-clause 6 of section 353 CrPC. Hence, for orders on this aspect posted to May 9."