The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to clarify when he plans to return to India, making it clear that his challenge to the Fugitive Economic Offenders law will not be heard unless he first submits to the court’s jurisdiction.
Mallya, who has been living in the UK since 2016, has moved two petitions before the high court, one contesting the order declaring him a fugitive economic offender and another questioning the constitutional validity of the 2018 law.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad raised the issue of Mallya’s return while hearing the petitions, and told his counsel Amit Desai that the court would not entertain the challenge to the Act unless the businessman places himself under its authority.
ED Opposes Mallya’s Pleas
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the pleas, arguing that individuals who evade Indian law should not be allowed to question legislation while remaining outside the country. He said the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was enacted to prevent such misuse of the legal process and informed the court that extradition proceedings against Mallya were at an advanced stage.
The bench also said both petitions could not proceed simultaneously and asked Mallya to indicate which plea he intended to pursue and which one he would withdraw.
Desai told the court that Mallya’s financial liabilities had effectively been addressed, with assets worth around Rs 14,000 crore attached and about Rs 6,000 crore recovered by banks. While the Solicitor General acknowledged that Mallya was entitled to legal representation even while abroad, the court questioned how criminal liability could be extinguished without submitting to judicial jurisdiction.
The high court scheduled the next hearing for February 12, directing Mallya to inform it by then which petition he wishes to press.
Mallya was declared a fugitive economic offender in January 2019 by a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He is accused of loan defaults and money laundering in connection with the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines and left India in March 2016.
