Picture Courtesy : Livemint
Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya wanted in India for defaulting loans to various banks has got a relief for some time. The UK court hearing his Extradition trial has adjourned the case till September 12 and extended Mallya’s bail.
While during a hearing , UK judge asked Indian officials to furnish videos of the Mumbai jail where Mallya will be kept if he is extradited to India.
Judge Emma Arbuthnot said a video of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where they plan to keep Mallya, should be shot in daylight so that it is clear if the prison would get any natural light or not.
The prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.
The judge, expressing dissatisfaction with the still photographs provided by the Indian authorities of the jail premises, has even given specific instructions for the video to be shot and submitted within three weeks.
Coming out after the hearing, Mallya said, “I have been trying to settle this matter for the past several years.”
“At the end of the day, the courts will decide,” Mallya told reporters outside the court. At the last hearing in the case on April 27, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had received a boost in the case as Judge Arbuthnot confirmed that the bulk of the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities will be admissible in the case.
The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016.
It also seeks to prove there are no “bars to extradition” and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines’ alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.
