New Delhi: The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it is taking all efforts to extradite fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines from United Kingdom, but the process is being delayed to some legal issues involved in the matter.
A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ashok Bhushan posted the matter for further hearing on March 15, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought some time to file report on the status of extradition of Mallya. At the outset, Mehta shared a letter of the Ministry of External Affairs' official Devesh Uttam written to him on the status of extradition of Mallya from the United Kingdom.
The solicitor general stated that Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has raised the issue of extradition with the UK government and the Centre is taking all serious efforts to extradite Mallya. He said that government is trying its best but status remains the same and from political executive level to administrative level the matter is being looked into repeatedly.
The bench took the letter on record. Mallya, an accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is in the UK since March 2016.
He is on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017. The letter submitted by the law officer stated that, "the Ministry of External Affairs has been informed by the UK government that there is a further legal issue that needs resolving before Mallya can be extradited".
It said, "Under United Kingdom law, extradition cannot take place until it is resolved. As it is judicial in nature, the issue is confidential and you will understand that Her Majesty's government cannot provide any more details.
We also cannot estimate how long this issue will take to resolve. Her Majesty's government fully understands the importance of this case to the government of India. I can reassure that Her Majesty's government is seeking to deal with the issue as quickly as possible".
The letter further stated, "The government of India has been making consistent efforts for early extradition of Vijay Mallya. In November 2020, Foreign secretary Harshvardhan Shringla raised this issue with Priti Patel, UK Home Secretary who informed that UK's legal complexities were preventing the quick extradition of Vijay Mallya".
