Arthur Rd Jail may be new address for Mallya

LONDON: Businessman Vijay Mallya on Thursday skipped his extradition hearing at the Westminster Magistrates Court, which set November 20 as the next date for a review hearing before the formal trial begins on December 4.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which represents the Indian government in court, told chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot that photographic evidence had been submitted along with a detailed note on the prison where Mallya would be lodged if extradited. According to the note, Mallya, who is wanted in India for financial offences, will be sent to the high security barrack number 12 of the Mumbai Central Prison (also known as the Arthur Road Jail).

Prison conditions have been an issue in previous hearings to India, the magistrate noted. CPS lawyer Mark Summers said the Indian government, anticipating that this would be an issue, submitted a detailed note on the prison conditions, including photographic evidence of the cell where Mallya may be lodged.

Details of the prison conditions were also reiterated by former home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi to London, who informed his counterparts at the UK home office that the jail facilities were no less than those in European prisons.

Though Mallya did not attend the hearing, Arbuthnot noted that he remained on bail until December 4. Mallya’s legal team had delivered a box of several hard copy documents to the CPS recently, but the latter said a week had been lost since it was not submitted in electronic format, and thus had to be scanned.