New Delhi: Business tycoon Vijay Mallya, facing a case of loan default of over Rs 9,400 crore, resigned on Monday from Rajya Sabha, a day before its Ethics Committee was set to recommend his expulsion.
In his resignation letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, he said he does not want his "name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud".
"And 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 said in the letter.
Sources however said his letter to Ansari was a scanned copy - which is not proper procedure - and that he may still be expelled from Parliament.
This is Mallya's second term in Rajya Sabha and it would have otherwise come to an end on July 1.
Welcoming the decision, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shaina NC said, "This will set a precedent. Mallya now must pay back the Rs 9000 crore he owes to banks."
The ethics panel of Rajya Sabha, which had taken up the matter, had unanimously decided in its April 25 meeting that Mallya should no longer remain a member of the House and was planning to recommend his expulsion in its next meeting on Tuesday.
At the same time, the panel headed by Karan Singh had given Mallya one week time to explain his conduct, which some members described as "procedural formality."
The government had over a week ago revoked his diplomatic passport and approached UK for his deportation.
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