Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the airline sector is doing well in India with many carriers making good profits as a reply to the "business model" of long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines. The owner Vijay Mallya owes more thanRs 9,000 crore of dues to lenders. He is in London, at present, defying Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.
Jaitley said, "I am not giving a final opinion on it. It could be attributed to the business model of a particular company."
"As far as the recoveries are concerned, in this (Mallya) case, banks are taking all possible steps. And whether there have been violations of some penal provisions, the investigating agencies are looking at it," he said.
Court ordered non-bailable warrant against Mallya for refusing to come back to India to appear before the ED. He was called on three different occasions over investigations concerning money laundering case.
"I do not think it (Mallya's case) had anything to do with the government because a lot of his cases were also locked up in courts. When he was in India, I understand from the banking sector that almost every recovery, every step, was challenged in court.
"So he used the legal process till the date of his departure and then he had to abandon that," the minister said.
-Sumana
