Vijay Mallya's Resignation Rejected, RS Panel Recommends Expulsion

New Delhi:Business tycoon Vijay Mallya, facing a case of loan default of over Rs 9,400 crore, is all set to be expelled from Rajya Sabha with Chairman Hamid Ansari on Tuesday turning down his resignation on procedural grounds.

The Rajya Sabha Secretary General said Mallya's resignation letter was not according to procedure and it does not bear his signature in original.

"Hamid Ansari, Chairman, Rajya Sabha does not accept the resignation of Vijay Mallya. Secretary General, Rajya Sabha writes to Sh. Mallya that his resignation letter does not conform to prescribed procedures and does not bear signature in original. As per Rule 213 of RS procedures, the resignation must be voluntary and genuine," Ansari's Officer on Special Duty to Gurdeep Singh Sappal said on Twitter quoting from the Secretary General's letter.

Mallya's expulsion from the Upper House, according to sources, was recommended by Rajya Sabha's Ethics Committee earlier in the day. This would mean that the Independent MP would be expelled from the House without getting a chance to resign.

The recommendation of the Ethics Committee will be made public on Wednesday.

The resignation letter was a last-ditch effort by Mallya to exit before being shown the door. "Since recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice, I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect," Mallya had said in the letter.

This is Mallya's second term in Rajya Sabha and it would have otherwise come to an end on July 1.

Ethics Panel of the Upper House had unanimously decided in its April 25 meeting that Mallya should no longer remain a member of the House. Panel Chairman Karan Singh wrote a letter to the Kingfisher Airline founder asking about the "purported default in the repayment of bank loans".

A defiant Mallya then faxed his resignation saying the allegations are "blatantly false and baseless."

Mallya is now reportedly in the UK after leaving India on March 2. Over a week ago the Centre revoked his diplomatic passport and approached UK authorities to deport him.

(With additional information from PTI)