Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya informed the Bombay High Court that he cannot provide a definite timeline for returning to India due to his revoked passport and UK court orders barring him from leaving England and Wales.
Mallya is challenging his declaration as a fugitive economic offender and the constitutional validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, arguing his presence in India is not required for the court to hear his pleas.
The court has directed the Union government to respond to his statement and scheduled the matter for further hearing next month.
Vijay Mallya Tells Bombay HC He Cannot Specify Timeline to Return to India
Fugitive businessman cites passport revocation and UK court restrictions
Summary
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that he is unable to provide a definite timeline for his return to India, citing the revocation of his passport and also being legally barred from leaving the UK.
In response to a directive from a bench consisting of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, who had indicated last week that they would not consider Mallya's appeals against his "fugitive economic offender" status unless he made it clear that he intended to appear in court again, Mallya's attorney, Amit Desai, submitted a statement on his behalf.
Mallya, who has been in the UK since 2016, has filed two applications in the high court, one contesting a declaration that he is a fugitive economic offender and the other raising concerns about the constitutionality of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The 70-year-old liquor tycoon faces money laundering accusations and is accused of repeatedly failing to return loans totalling several thousand crores.
Mallya's legal team contended that his absence is due to international legal restrictions rather than his own decision, pointing out that his Indian passport was cancelled in 2016 and that he is not allowed to leave the country due to court orders in England and Wales.
In his statement, the businessman stated that he was unable to provide a specific date of his return to India because he did not have a valid passport after the Indian government cancelled it in 2016 and because he was prohibited from leaving the country by court orders in England and Wales.
The senior counsel reiterated that Mallya's presence was not required in the country for the court to hear his pleas against the fugitive tag and the provisions of the Act.
"If he (Mallya) were to appear in India, then all these proceedings would be rendered irrelevant as the statute says that once the offender appears in the concerned court of law, then all these orders would be set aside," Desai told the court.
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The bench directed the Union government to file its reply to Mallya's statement and posted the matter for further hearing next month.
Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The businessman left India in March 2016.
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