BackVijay Mallya's extradition to India: UK govt can not set a timeline, says envoy
UK government earlier indicated that Mallya is unlikely to be extradited to India anytime soonIn May, Mallya lost his appeals in the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to India
PremiumThe United Kingdom government can not set a timeline for extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the British High Commissioner Sir Philip Barton told news agency PTI today. "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 said, "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.
A spokesperson in the British High Commission said last month 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.
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.
Vijay Mallya, promoter of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines has been charged with alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to estimated ₹9,000 crore. He was arrested by the UK authorities on April 20, 2017 on the request of the Indian investigative agencies.
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