New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred the contempt case against fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya, who was found guilty of hiding facts from the court in a contempt case.

On the plea of amicus curiae senior counsel Jaideep Gupta, the matter before the bench of Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra S Bhat, and PS Narasimha has been adjourned. Mallya was found guilty of contempt of court after transferring USD 40 million to his children in defiance of the court's ruling, and the highest court summoned him on several times.

The Supreme Court gave Mallya two weeks to personally appear himself or through counsel in the contempt case against him on February 10, and if he fails to do so, the court will proceed to the natural conclusion.

The top court agreed with amicus curiae and senior attorney Jaideep Gupta, who was helping the court in the case, that Mallya be allowed one final chance to present his argument in the case on the issue of sentence quantum.

In Gupta's opinion, the matter should be deferred for a short time with the proviso that this is his (Gupta's) final opportunity, and that if he chooses not to be personally present or make comments through counsel, the court should proceed with the case. We're going to take a two-week break based on the submissions.

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