An Indian court issued a warrant against billionaire Vijay Mallya and his Kingfisher Airlines on Friday, an airport operator that is suing the company said.
GMR Infrastructure, which operates airports in Delhi and Hyderabad, has filed a case against Mallya and other executives of Kingfisher alleging that four checks worth a combined INR105 million rupees (USD$1.99 million) bounced.
"Since they failed to appear before the magistrate, the court has ordered issuance of non-bailable warrant against Kingfisher, Mr. Vijay Mallya and four other Kingfisher officials," GMR said on Friday.
Kingfisher said that the company had not been served with a warrant. The statement did not comment on Mallya or the other executives. Officials at the court in the southern city of Hyderabad were unavailable to comment.
A person served with a non-bailable warrant has to appear in court before a specified date to avoid detention, a lawyer who is not part of the case said.
Once India's second-biggest airline, Kingfisher has never turned a profit since its launch in 2005. It has defaulted on payments to airports, tax authorities and banks and is seven months behind on salary payments to staff.
Kingfisher said it will keep its planes grounded until October 20.
