UK home secretary approves Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has approved the extradition of fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya. The Westminster Magistrates’ Court on December 9, 2018, had ordered Mallya’s extradition to India.

Earlier, Chief Magistrate Judge Emma Arbuthnot had ruled there is strong enough reason for a decision to be taken by the Home Secretary of State on whether to order Vijay Mallya’s extradition.

Mallya is wanted in India for defaulting on loans worth Rs 9,000 crore taken against his failed Kingfisher Airlines.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had welcomed the court’s ruling.

The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss has been on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017.Reacting to the development, Union Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted that while “Modi government clears one more step to get Mallya extradited”, the Opposition “rallies around the Saradha Scamsters.”

Mallya is expected to move the UK High Court and has 14 days to appeal against the extradition.

Under the Extradition Treaty procedures, the Chief Magistrate’s verdict was sent to the Home Secretary because only he is authorised to order Mallya’s extradition.

The UK court had said it was satisfied with the various assurances provided by the Indian government, including a video of the jail cell, which had not only been recently redecorated but was also far larger than the minimum requirement threshold.On January 5, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court had declared Vijay Mallya a fugitive economic offender. Mallya became the first person to be declared a fugitive economic offender under the new law.