High Court to Vijay Mallya: Come to India if 'Fugitive' tag is harsh; face proceedings, it will go away

March 02, 2019:

On Tuesday, Bombay High Court has asked fugitive business baron Vijay Mallya to return to India and face proceedings if he finds the word ‘fugitive’ tag put on him harsh.

The Court also said the fugitive tag would be removed if he comes back to India.

A division bench comprising of Justice Indrajit Mohanty and Justice Sarang Kotwal was hearing a petition filed by Mallya against the order by a Special Court which declared him a fugitive, paving the way for the ED to confiscate and attach all his properties under the new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

Mallya’s petition sought removal of the 'fugitive' tag against his name.

Senior Advocate Amit Desai who appeared for Mallya, informed the Judges that as Mallya was declared fugitive, all his properties would either be attached or confiscated without corroborating whether the same had been purchased with the money that he had borrowed from several banks.

Desai claimed that though Mallya had undertaken to return the money, the consequences of the fugitive tag would render it impossible for him to do so as all his properties would be attached.

He said the petition was intended to pre-empt the ED’s application which will come up for hearing on March 13 before the Special Court, seeking permission to initiate confiscation proceedings.

Desai further said that though Mallya was willing to come back to India, he was restrained by a UK Court as a case against him was pending there.

The Court, however, said that Mallya was restrained by the UK Court only because he had challenged his extradition proceedings.

However, if he informed the UK Court that he was willing to go back to India to face the pending proceedings, the restraint would be removed, the Judges said.

The bench then said that the fugitive tag would also be removed if he came back, and sought to know when Mallya would do that.

The bench has asked the ED to file its response to Mallya’s petition by March 8.

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