Vijay Mallya arrested by Scotland Yard in London
- He was declared a proclaimed offender.
- He was arrested on an extradition warrant.
FollowFormer Kingfisher top boss, Vijay Mallya was arrested London on Tuesday. According to multiple reports, Mallya is due to appear in Westminister Magistrates court.
His arrest is being seen as the first step towards his extradition. Industrialist was declared a proclaimed offender and arrested on an extradition warrant, reported PTI.
Back in September Mallya had told the British court that he wished to India but was "incapacitated" to travel despite his "best intentions" as the Indian authorities had revoked his passport. The Indian authorities on their part had informed the court that India has revoked his passport due to his own conduct.
India had given a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the Extradition Treaty between India and the UK through a note verbale on February 8.
While handing over the request, India had asserted that it has a "legitimate" case against Mallya and maintained that if an extradition request is honoured, it would show British "sensitivity towards our concerns".
Last month, setting in motion the process of extradition of Mallya, the British government had certified India's request and sent it to a district judge for further action.
The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge whether to issue a warrant of arrest. In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.
The wanted person has a right to appeal to the higher courts against any decision all the way up to the supreme court.
Earlier in January this year, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.
Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.
The arrest once again has raised hopes in India that Mallya, who has been listed a "wilful defaulter" would be brought back to India. However, it is still unclear whether the arrest would culminate in his return to India.
The arrest, however, will not silence all those who have questioned what PM Modi has been doing about getting Mallya extradited to India.Â
