The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a nearly 10-minute long “step by step video” of the jail compartment where businessman Vijay Mallya will be lodged in India, highlighting various facilities before the London court. Barrack Number 12 of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail has a television set, private toilet, a washing area, availability of proper natural light, access to library and a courtyard to take a walk.
The court's directions had come after Mallya's defence team focused its objections on the lack of natural light available in Barrack 12 and claimed that the “government of India's assurance cannot be relied upon.” A senior official said, “The UK court wanted to see if Indian jails are hygienic. We have given them proof of the hygiene level and medical facilities available in jail. In fact, the barrack in which Mallya would be lodged is east-facing so it has lot of sunlight too.” Barrack 12 houses high-profile inmates, including prisoners who face a security threat elsewhere, or ones who could pose a threat to others. It's a ground-plus-one structure with eight cells on each floor.
The Westminster Magistrates' Court Judge Emma Arbuthnot had given specific instructions for the video to be shot and submitted within three weeks. She said it should be shot in daylight so that it is clear if the prison would get any natural light or not. The Kingfisher Airlines boss has been on bail in an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, and is currently fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around £9 billion.
In the ongoing extradition proceedings, if the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary will have two months to sign Mallya's extradition order. However, both sides will have the chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the Magistrates' Court verdict.
