Vijay Mallya, wanted for billions in unpaid loans, had resigned as a Parliamentarian this week. (File Photo)
Vijay Mallya, who has refused to return from the UK to face banks over unpaid loans, has been
allowed to resign from Parliament.
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Hamid Ansari, has accepted Mr Mallya's resignation sent on Monday, Parliament was informed today.
Earlier, the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha had
recommended that the fugitive tycoon should be expelled with immediate effect, rather than being allowed to quit. The panel said that Mr Mallya's resignation note lacked an original signature and could therefore be overlooked, a recommendation which was over-ruled.
In his letter, Mr Mallya, whose defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes banks over a billion dollars, said he is the victim of a media trial, and is quitting in "keeping with the highest standards of ethics that any member of Parliament should and ought to emulate".
The 60-year-old was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 and again in 2010, both as an independent, with his current term set to end on June 30.
India's asked the UK to deport him after he ignored orders to meet with banks and investigators who have charged him with money-laundering.
Mr Mallya flew to London in March, just as the banks belatedly sprang into action to recover unpaid loans. India has asked the UK to deport him. He has denied any wrongdoing, says his various plans of repayment have been turned down by banks, and refutes charges that he went property-shopping abroad with some of the money loaned to his airline.