[ By Bobby Anthony ]Fugitive willful defaulter Vijay Mallya’s lawyers in the United Kingdom are likely to use a recent Supreme Court of India order to seek mitigation at hearings regarding his extradition to India which is scheduled to begin at the Royal Courts of Justice or the High Court of England & Wales in London on February 11, 2020.It may be recalled that a direction issued by...
Fugitive willful defaulter Vijay Mallya’s lawyers in the United Kingdom are likely to use a recent Supreme Court of India order to seek mitigation at hearings regarding his extradition to India which is scheduled to begin at the Royal Courts of Justice or the High Court of England & Wales in London on February 11, 2020.
It may be recalled that a direction issued by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, Justice B R Gavai, and Justice Surya Kant on the January 10, 2020, to the Karnataka High Court had asked the latter to expeditiously settle the matter of assets deposited before it by Mallya for liquidation, and thereby payment to creditors.
Mallya has claimed the assets placed at the courts' disposal are worth around Rs 13,000 crores.
According to the Supreme Court of India’s direction, all parties involved in the litigation agreed that the appeal by Mallya “pending before the Karnataka High Court at Bengaluru, be disposed of by the High Court as early as possible, preferably not later than three months from today”. This would mean by April 10, 2020.
There are indications that Mallya’s defense lawyers in the United Kingdom seem to view this SC ruling as favorable, especially if the London High Court could be persuaded to take a view that a settlement of his dues to his Indian creditors is imminent as a result of the Karnataka High Court proceedings.
They could argue that since Mallya’s creditors will get paid as a result of the Karnataka High Court proceedings, there would be no need to extradite him to India, thus blunting the arguments made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
It may be recalled that the CBI and the ED working under India’s Union Ministry of Finance had told the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the United Kingdom, that Mallya had no intention to repay the money borrowed by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines from Indian banks.
Moreover, Mallya would also have the option to approach the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court. If that too fails, he could petition the European Court of Justice as long as the UK has not has not actually exited the European Union. The United Kingdom and the European Union aim to part on January 1, 2021.