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Liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s extradition case is up for hearing next on May 17 at a UK court.
On its part, India is collating additional evidence to be produced against him, though the extradition process may go well into 2018 before it is concluded.
“The extradition hearing is coming up next on May 17 before the District Judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. However, some more documents as evidence against him (Mallya) will have to be produced. At least we have crossed the first step in the series of steps that the extradition process has. The case will not be over before 2018 end,” a top official told BusinessLine requesting anonymity.
Mallya, who is facing charges in India for a whopping ₹9,000 crore loan default case that was paid by the PSU banks, was arrested by the Scotland Yard on Tuesday morning in London. Following the routine arrest, he was granted bail. He owned the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
Extradition requests to the UK from outside the European Union are governed by Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. As per the act, a person is arrested under a provisional warrant once the extradition case is certified.
If the judge finds Mallya guilty in the next hearing then he may be imprisoned and detained and may order further proceedings in respect of the extradition to be adjourned until the person is released from detention pursuant to the sentence, sources said.
Sources added that in the next hearing the judge will see whether any of the statutory bars in the Act apply in the case, including health and human rights and whether extradition should be barred on grounds of the forum bar.
However, if the judge finds him guilty at the end of the extradition hearing, which may take about a year, then the request to extradite Mallya will be sent to Secretary of State for approval.
The Secretary of State will then examine the extradition based upon four parameters on whether the person is at risk of death penalty, specialty arrangements are in place, if the person was previously extradited from another country to the UK and if the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.
“I think the government and all the investigating agencies are certainly putting in their best efforts because the agencies do believe that an offence has been committed for which the person (Mallya) is required in India. It’s part of the judicial process in that country and the judicial process functions on certain considerations,” Finance Minister Arun Jailtey said here on Wednesday.
Mallya left India for the UK on March 2 last year following which the government revoked his passport, which he is allowed to retain by the British authorities. Subsequently, a Mumbai magisterial court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him. NBWs have also been issued by a special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act matters and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The extradition request was sent to the UK through a note verbale on February 8.
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