HC to Mallya: When Will You Return?
Bombay High Court refuses to hear pleas unless fugitive tycoon submits to its jurisdiction
- Court asks Vijay Mallya to clarify his return plans to India
- HC says it will not hear his challenge to FEO Act unless he submits to jurisdiction
- ED says extradition proceedings are at an advanced stage
- Mallya asked to choose between his two pending petitions
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 24th Dec: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya when he intends to return to India and made it clear that it would not hear his petitions unless he first submits himself to the jurisdiction of the court.
A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad posed the question while hearing two petitions filed by the UK-based businessman—one challenging the order declaring him a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly opposed Mallya’s pleas, arguing that fugitives cannot be allowed to challenge the validity of Indian laws while staying outside the country. He submitted that the Act was enacted to prevent such individuals from abusing the legal process from abroad and informed the court that Mallya’s extradition proceedings are at an advanced stage.
The bench also directed Mallya to clarify which of his two petitions he wishes to pursue and which one he intends to withdraw, stating that both pleas cannot be heard simultaneously.
Mallya’s counsel Amit Desai argued that banks had already recovered a substantial part of the dues by attaching and recovering assets worth about ₹14,000 crore against liabilities of ₹6,000 crore. However, the court questioned how criminal liability could be wiped out without the accused submitting to the court’s jurisdiction.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on February 12, by which time Mallya must inform the court about the petition he plans to proceed with.
Mallya, the former promoter of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, was declared a fugitive economic offender in January 2019. He left India in March 2016 and is facing multiple charges of fraud and money laundering.
