Extradite Vijay Mallya to India, says UK court
LONDON: Upholding India’s evidence and charges of financial irregularities against businessman Vijay Mallya, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday cleared his extradition in a rare ruling against an Indian that marked what, the judge said, could be the “start of a long process”.
Mallya, wanted in India to face charges of alleged financial irregularities running into thousands of crores of rupees, is expected to appeal against the judgment within the stipulated 14 days. India welcomed the verdict with “deep satisfaction” and said that “justice has been delivered today”.
The 62-year-old businessman, who sat in court impassively, was told he will continue to remain on bail.
Delivering a summary of the 74-page judgment, chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot highlighted the failings of Indian banks while lending to Mallya and his companies, and said the four grounds on which he had opposed the extradition had failed.
The four grounds were lack of a prima facie case, risk to human rights in Indian jails, abuse of process, and extraneous considerations. The detailed judgment described by Arbuthnot as a “a jigsaw puzzle” contained 471 paragraphs.
Mark Summers, the lawyer representing India, accused Mallya of “three chapters of dishonesty” in previous hearings: misrepresentations made to banks to secure loans, what was done with the loans, and what he and his companies did when banks recalled the loans.
At the end of reading out the summary, Arbuthnot told Mallya that “this may well be the start of a long process. I am sure your lawyer will advise you.” This was apparently a reference to magistrates court judgements being appealed against and that process taking long.
“There was no evidence which allowed me to find that if extradited Dr Mallya was at real risk of suffering a flagrant denial of justice,” the judgment said.
“In the light of the decisions outlined above, I am sending Dr Mallya’s case to the Home Secretary of State for a decision to be taken on whether to order his extradition,” it concluded. According to British law, the home secretary needs to grant approval for all extradition requests.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley welcomed the ruling, tweeting that “no one who cheats India will go scot free”. Noting that it was a “great day for India”, he said in his tweet: “The Judgement of UK’S Court is welcome. An offender benefited during the UPA [United Progressive Alliance]. The NDA [National Democratic Alliance] brings him to book.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the BJP’S projection of the ruling as a victory. “It is not the question of Vijay Mallya being extradited, it is the question of the Indian banking system being handed over to Mr Modi’s friends. It’s called crony capitalism,” he told reporters after a meeting of Opposition parties.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesman Abhishek Dayal said: “We welcome the decision and hope to bring Vijay Mallya back soon. CBI has its own inherent strengths. We worked hard on this case. CBI was always strong on facts and legally we were confident while pursuing the extradition process.”
External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “We thank the UK authorities for their help in this matter. We will continue to work with the UK government for expeditious implementation of today’s court order and early extradition of Mr Mallya to India.”
Sarosh Zaiwalla, founder of leading British legal firm Zaiwalla & Co, said Mallya is unlikely to be extradited for months and the process in the court of appeals alone could take five or six months. “Should this also go against him, he could apply for the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, which would involve at least another six weeks, and if he won the right to do so, that could take more months, even up to a year,” he said.
“Ultimately it is with the minister; however, the minister would not be able to overturn the extradition judgement,” he added.
Speaking to reporters outside the court before the verdict was announced, Mallya reiterated his claim that he is willing to settle “100%” of the principal amount with the banks, and questioned why his settlement offer made before the Karnataka high court is not being accepted by the government.
Arbuthnot upheld India’s charge of money laundering against Mallya and other accusations. Conditions in barrack number 12 of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is expected to be held, were satisfactory, she ruled.
“I find a prima facie case of a conspiracy to defraud which involves not just the KFA [Kingfisher Airlines] executives but also the named bankers in IDBI…THERE is clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds and I find a prima facie case that Dr Mallya was involved in a conspiracy to launder money,” the judgment said.
The judge highlighted the failings of IDBI: “[There] is no doubt... that there has been a catalogue of failures of the bank at different levels. The failings were before the loans were sanctioned and afterwards.”
On Mallya’s claim that the extradition request by India was politically motivated, she ruled: “I find that because both the Congress and the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] are blaming him and others for the state banks’ losses that does not mean that he is being prosecuted for his political opinions, even in the wide sense of the word.”
The judge dismissed the criticism made of the possible effect of considerable media attention if Mallya were tried in Indian courts. There is insufficient evidence to find that he will not be tried by a competent and fair court, she ruled.
“Any suggestion that CBI courts are too pliable when it comes to CBI cases is not borne out by reliable evidence… I accept the GOI’S [Government of India] contention that because Dr Mallya has such a high profile that his trial will be under great scrutiny. I find that Dr Mallya will be able to raise with the court any overly prejudicial publicity,” she said.
She added, “I do not accept that the courts in India are there to do what the politicians tell them to do. As I have already said, the court will be under great scrutiny. I do not find any international consensus which would enable me to find that the judges in India are corrupt.”
Referring to Mallya’s health issues and implications of his potential stay in jail, Arbuthnot said: “I would expect that were the Indian court able to allow Dr Mallya a bed and home cooked food it would enable him to face the trials ahead in a more healthy state than otherwise.”
She further said, “Certainly, his doctors will need to watch what he eats to help manage his diabetes and coronary artery disease. A spell in custody is likely to help him cut down on alcohol. A regular exercise routine will need to be worked out by his doctors to keep him healthy.”
Mallya said after the verdict that his lawyers would review the order and take legal recourse.