London, Dec 09 :
The Westminster magistrates court in United Kingdom is set to give its verdict on Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India on Monday, but the businessman accused of fleeing the country after defaulting on loans is unlikely to return to India anytime soon.
Since India and the United Kingdom signed an extradition treaty in 1993, several key individuals have been sought by India, such as Nadeem Saifi (Gulshan Kumar murder case), Ravi Sankaran (navy war room leak), Tiger Hanif (1993 Gujarat blasts), but none were followed so closely as the flamboyant Mallya’s case.
Monday’s judgement may or may not be on the lines expected in New Delhi, but even if judge Emma Arbuthnot rules that there are no legal bars to his extradition and recommends it to the home secretary, Mallya (and India) will have opportunities to appeal in higher courts.
Besides, depending on the timing and how the Brexit imbroglio unfolds, he could also approach the European Court of Justice, which is known to be lenient on grounds of human rights. The final decision to extradite rests with the home secretary.
As Tiger Hanif’s case shows, even if an individual loses all legal challenges, extradition cannot happen until the home secretary signs it off (having lost in courts, he made a ‘final representation’ in 2013 to the home secretary, who is yet to take a decision on his extradition).
Sought by India in connection with defaulting of bank loans running into thousands of crores, Mallya’s case essentially revolves around whether there is a prima facie case against him, and whether it amounts to a crime according to the laws of both countries (as stipulated in the extradition treaty).
The amount outstanding against Mallya has been mentioned as over Rs 9,000 crore, but the case documents mention the alleged dishonest obtaining of loans “in the amounts of Rs 1,500 million, Rs 2,000 million and Rs 7,500 million during October and November 2009”.
While Mallya’s team insists there is no prima facie case and that the inability to return loans to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines was due to a “genuine business failure”, India has alleged “three chapters of dishonesty” on his part.
