Vijay Mallya's lawyer asks SC to discharge him citing client's non-cooperation; rejected

In a breaking development, Supreme Court has asked Centre to file a status report in six weeks on proceedings in the UK to extradite fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to India. The Centre had on October 5 told the apex court that Mallya cannot be extradited to India until a separate “secret” legal process in the United Kingdom, which is “judicial and confidential in nature", is resolved.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ashok Bhushan asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to file a status report in the matter in six weeks and posted it for hearing in the first week of January next year.

Furthermore, Vijay Mallya’s lawyer E C Agarwala had asked for himself to be discharged from the case, saying that there is no cooperation from Vijay Mallya. However, the apex court refused to accept the plea.

READ: Vijay Mallya skips SC hearing due to 'secret proceedings' in UK; matter adjourned to Nov 2

MEA on 'Secret Proceedings In UK'

Listing the sequence of events, MEA official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on October 8 said that the beleaguered businessman had exhausted all the avenues for appeal against the Westminster Magistrates' Court's decision ordering his extradition.

He reiterated that the Indian government was not a party to the secret proceedings in the UK. At the same time, he added that the Centre was in continuous touch with the UK government to ensure that Mallya is extradited at the earliest. This comes amid the speculation that Mallya might opt for political asylum, which could delay the extradition process.

READ: 'Secret' extradition proceedings going on to bring Mallya: Centre tells SC

Mallya faces serious charges of fraud and money laundering pertaining to the amount borrowed by Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) from several Indian banks. He has been out on bail in the UK since his initial arrest in April 2017. In 2019, he became the first person to be declared as a fugitive economic offender on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate. 

On April 20, the High Court of Justice of the UK dismissed his plea against his extradition to India. The Queen's Division Bench comprising Justices Irwin and Elisabeth Laing did not find merit in Mallya's appeal against the decision of Senior District Judge (SDJ) Arbuthnot of the Westminster Magistrates' Court to sending his case to the Home Secretary. In the verdict, the bench rejected the submission that the SDJ was wrong to find a prima facie case of conspiracy to defraud.

Moreover, it held that there is a prima facie case of misrepresentation, conspiracy and money laundering on the part of Vijay Mallya. Thereafter, the UK High Court on May 14 rejected Mallya's plea to move the UK Supreme Court. In June, the British High Commission in India ruled out the possibility of his early extradition citing that there was another legal matter that needed to be resolved. 

READ: Vijay Mallya to Nirav Modi, who are the 'Bad Boy Billionaires' in new Netflix series?

READ: 'Vijay Mallya can't be extradited until completion of secret proceedings in UK': MEA