UK High Court grants Vijay Mallya permission to appeal against extradition to India

The Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday granted fugitive Vijay Mallya permission to appeal against extradition to India. The court was hearing Mallya's plea against his extradition to India who had questioned poor conditions of Indian prisons.

The London court began hearing the arguments from the defence team of embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya who has sought permission to appeal against his extradition order signed off by the UK home secretary to face alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores in India.

The 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss said he was feeling "positive" as he entered the Royal Courts of Justice, where Justices George Leggatt and Andrew Popplewell began hearing the arguments from his barrister Clare Montgomery. 

Vijay Mallya outside the London High Court where hearing on his plea against extradition is underway. pic.twitter.com/fNbPgTEx9L

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A two-member bench of Justices George Leggatt and Andrew Popplewell of the Administrative Court division of the Royal Courts of Justice heard arguments of Mallya's counsel Clare Montgomery and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) arguing on behalf of India.

The 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines chief lost a "leave to appeal" in UK High Court on paper on April 5 against the extradition order, leading to an oral hearing of his renewal application.

On April 11, he applied for an oral hearing to argue his case which has been listed in a four-hour slot on Tuesday. 

Mallya's counsel sought to persuade the court saying that it is reasonably arguable that the order of Westminster court judge Emma Arbuthnot was erroneous in sending his case to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to order his extradition.

Mallya's counsel Montgomery argued against Judge Arbuthnots' ruling that Kingfisher Airline and Mallya misrepresented the company's financial situation to the consortium of banks, saying that her client made the company's financial position abundantly clear.

"The Government of India supplied documents late. By then the magistrate had already given her decision. The other point the judge makes is the assumption is that all the documents that are available are available to the court is not correct," she argued.

Montgomery argued that the case by the Indian government was moved in a different case. "You cannot ask for someone for one offence and then say that you will be charged for a separate offence," she said.

To this, one of the judges said the "extradition request" is irrelevant, not the offences.

Mallya came with his son Siddharth and partner and former Kingfisher Airline hostess Pinki Lalwani to the court. Mallya, who fled India in March 2016, has been living in the United Kingdom since then.

The Patiala House Court in New Delhi had already declared Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in January 2018. The court had also issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against him for evading summons and law of the land in 2017.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)