Vijay Mallya Extradition From UK: All You Need To Know About Secret Legal Matter Preventing Extradition
According to British law, fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has exhausted all his legal options to prevent the country from handing over him to India.
But the UK government had indicated that Mallya is unlikely to be extradited to India anytime soon, saying there is a legal issue that needed to be resolved before his extradition can be arranged.
"Now, we have been told that there is a secret legal matter and that his extradition cannot take place without its resolution. We are in touch with the UK government," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
Vijay Mallya Extradition From UK 'Secret' ongoing proceedings
On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs had submitted before the Supreme Court that it is not aware of the "secret" ongoing proceedings in the UK, which is delaying Mallya's extradition.
Mallya who fled India in March 2016 and has been based in the UK ever since has been fighting tooth and nail to avoid getting extradited.
In June, India urged the UK not to consider any request for asylum by Mallya as there appeared to be no ground for his persecution in the country.
He had made several arguments including apprehensions on a fair trial and the poor conditions of Indian jails as reasons for him not to be extradited.?
India pressing to get back Mallya
India has been pressing the UK to extradite Mallya after he lost his appeals in the British Supreme Court in May against his extradition to India to face money laundering and fraud charges.
The 64-year-old liquor baron who was also the promoter of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines is wanted in India over alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore.
The flamboyant businessman and former Rajya Sabha MP ran into troubles with his ambitious venture - Kingfisher Airlines, which was one of the only few full-service private airlines in the country.
Kingfisher Airlines shut in 2013
Due to mounting debts and unsustainable operation costs, the airline which was founded in 2003 ran out of business in 2013.
Last week, United Breweries (Holding) Ltd had told the Supreme Court that it had offered over Rs 14,000 crore to various banks to settle its dues and that the company's assets exceeded its total debt.
"The total amount offered is over Rs 14,000 crore whereas the total due amount is Rs 6,203 crore plus interest. But the allocation has been only Rs 430 crore," Senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for United Breweries had said.
Vaidyanathan said that the petitioner was the guarantor though the loans were taken by Kingfisher and others.
