Vijay Mallya renews application for appeal against extradition

Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has submitted a “renewal application” in the UK High Court, making another attempt at appealing against his extradition to India to face fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores.

Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has submitted a “renewal application” in the UK High Court, making another attempt at appealing against his extradition to India to face fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores.

The 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss failed in his first attempt at an application seeking “leave to appeal” in the court last Friday and had five business days to renew that application to seek a brief oral hearing before a High Court judge, where his lawyers will further plead his case against being extradited to India.

“A renewal form has been received and will be listed in due course,” a High Court official said on Friday. UK home secretary Sajid Javid had signed off on a Westminster Magistrates’ Court order for Mallya to be extradited to face the Indian courts back in February. Mallya then filed an application for permission to appeal against that decision in the High Court, which was refused by Justice William Davis, giving him a week to apply for “oral consideration” via a renewal application.

The case will now be listed in the coming weeks for a hearing before a judge, where Mallya’s legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – arguing on behalf of the Indian government – will go head to head to reiterate factors for and against the businessman’s extradition to Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

As per legal procedure in the UK, Mallya’s first written “leave to appeal” application had been passed on Justice Davis, who was to make a decision on the basis of papers submitted and rejected that application “on papers”. A judge must now decide following an “oral consideration” in coming weeks if Mallya’s appeal can proceed to a full hearing.

Meanwhile, the businessman remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017. At the end of a year-long extradition trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London last December, Judge Emma Arbuthnot had ruled that the “flashy” billionaire had a “case to answer” in the Indian courts.

The judge found there was “clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds” and accepted a prima facie case of fraud and a conspiracy to launder money against Mallya, as presented by the CPS on behalf of the Indian authorities.

The court had also dismissed any bars to extradition on the grounds of the prison conditions under which the businessman would be held, as the judge accepted the Indian government’s assurances that he would receive all necessary medical care at Barrack 12 in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.

Newsletter

Prime Minister Modi inaugurates Atal Tunnel - longest tunnel above 10000 ft

Ladakh: The Prime Minister today inaugurated the Atal Tunnel and took the inaugural drive through in the 9km long tunnel...

Orissa High Court Order regarding migrant workers entry into Orissa put on hold by the Supreme Court

The Orissa High Court order to permit the entry of migrant workers only if they tested Negative for COVID-19 was put on...

Coronavirus Lockdown - First Flights To Bring Back Indians Stranded Abroad Land In Kerala

On Monday, the central government announced plans to begin a massive repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad, dubbe...

Reacting to Trump's retaliation threat India allows Hydroxychloroquine export

In a move after Trump's threat to retaliate if India fails to send medicines, India has lifted ban of export of ess...

All Domestic Passenger Flights Suspended from Midnight Tomorrow

The operations of all domestic schedule commercial airlines will stop operations from 23.59pm on March 24, a government...

Iran says it ‘unintentionally’ shot down Ukrainian plane, blames ‘human error’

Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, sa...