Feature
Karnataka HC issues notice to industrialist Vijay Mallya
Bengaluru:The Karnataka High Court on Friday issued notice to industrialist Vijay Mallya and others on a plea by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking his arrest and impounding of his passport in the multi-crore loan default case of defunct Kingfisher Airline.
Admitting the petition, Justice A.S Bopanna issued notice to Mallya, his Kingfisher and United Breweries Holdings Ltd as well as British liquor major Diageo plc and its Indian arm, United Spirits Ltd. for their response and posted the case for hearing next week.
The judge also made an observation that the Debt Recovery Tribunal, which is hearing the case, was free to pronounce order on the bank’s applications as it deemed fit.
“We have filed a writ petition before the single bench of Justice Bopanna for the arrest of Mallya and impounding of his passport on the basis of a statement he made recently that he would move to Britain to be with his family,” a lawyer for the bank, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IANS here.
As a lead bank of the consortium of 17 state-run and private banks, which have a combined outstanding dues up to Rs.7,800 crore from Kingfisher, headed by Mallya, the SBI moved the high court after the debt recovery tribunal here reserved order on its four interlocutory applications filed on Wednesday.
“We have approached the high court as the tribunal had not yet acted upon our applications, which included disclosure of Mallya’s assets in India and abroad and our claim on the $75 million (Rs.516 crore) severance package Diageo and USL signed with him on February 25 here,” the counsel said.
The writ in the high court prayed for disclosure of properties of Mallya, his son Siddharth, and his relatives and restraining Diageo and USL from paying the deal amount to Mallya.
“We have petitioned the high court for relief in case tribunal judge R. Benkanahalli does not give order on our IAs on Monday or Tuesday and adjourns hearing in our case before it,” said another lawyer for the bank.
The bank was expecting the tribunal to order attachment of the $75 million deal Diageo signed with Mallya for his resignation as chairman and non-executive director of USL and other group companies.
As part of the sweetheart deal, USL has to pay Mallya $75 million over a five-year period, including $40 million (Rs.275 crore) this year and $35 million over the next four years.
Earlier, Mallya’s senior counsel Uday Holla, who filed objections to the tribunal’s notices, presented arguments before its judge.
“The tribunal cannot attach the severance package as Mallya is getting it for signing a non-competitive agreement that bars him from entering into liquor (spirits) business and compete with Diageo over the next five years,” Holla argued.
He also assured the tribunal that Mallya would not leave the country, as he was also an independent lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
Countering Holla’s submission, bank’s counsel George Joseph told the tribunal that Mallya’s statement could not be taken on face value.
“Mallya is taking everyone for a ride. By not repaying the debt to the consortium banks, he is demeaning parliament as its lawmaker. It is a sin not to repay loans, which amount to Rs.10,000 crore, including interest on the loans sanctioned from 2004-12 and remain outstanding,” Joseph argued.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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