The ministry of external affairs on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the extradition order of liquor baron Vijay Mallya by the highest court in the United Kingdom has not come into effect yet. The central government told the apex court that it is not aware of the 'secret' ongoing proceedings of in the UK which are delaying Mallya's extradition, according to news agency ANI.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that government is neither aware of the nature of the proceedings nor is a party to it in the UK Supreme Court which had cleared the extradition of Mallya to India, the news agency reported.
Mallya’s counsel was also unable to state by when legal, extradition proceedings will end in the UK. The Supreme Court asked Mallya’s lawyer to provide clarity on the nature of current proceedings in the UK in the next hearing. The next hearing is scheduled on 2 November. The court had directed the ministry of external affairs to ensure his presence in the courtroom on that day.
The Supreme Court earlier rejected Mallya's plea seeking review of 2017 verdict holding him guilty for contempt of court. Mallya had sought a review of its May 2017 order holding him guilty of contempt for transferring $40 million to his children in violation of the court's order.
Liquor baron Mallya, promoter of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines has been charged with alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to estimated ₹9,000 crore. He is presently in the UK.
Mallya's extradition: What UK officials say
The United Kingdom government can not set a timeline for extradition of Vijay Mallya, the British High Commissioner Sir Philip Barton earlier told news agency PTI . "The extradition of Vijay Mallya is an ongoing legal case and I can't comment any further on it. I can't say anything at all about timescales," Barton said.
Barton further added, "The UK government and the courts, which are independent of the government, are absolutely clear about their roles in preventing people avoid justice by moving to another country. We are all determined to play our part in any case, and to make sure that we are working together to ensure that criminals can't escape justice by crossing national borders."
Citing the unresolved legal issues, the UK government earlier indicated that Mallya is unlikely to be extradited to India anytime soon. In May, Mallya lost his appeals in the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to India.
In May, Mallya lost his appeals in the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to India. Mallya had sought asylum on humanitarian grounds, particularly under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). However, India has requested the UK government not to consider Mallya’s asylum request, the Indian foreign ministry said earlier.
“We have requested the UK not to consider his asylum as requested by him because there appears to be no ground for his persecution in India," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told earlier.
Mallya was arrested by the UK authorities on April 20, 2017 on the request of the Indian investigative agencies.
A spokesperson in the British High Commission said that there was a legal issue that needed to be resolved before Mallya's extradition can be arranged, according to a report in PTI.
"Under United Kingdom law, extradition cannot take place until it is resolved. The issue is confidential and we cannot go into any detail. We cannot estimate how long this issue will take to resolve. We are seeking to deal with this as quickly as possible," the official had said.
