Indian defaulter Vijay Mallya will face a UK court in December, when it will be decided whether he will be extradited to India where he owes over Rs 9000 Crore to banks. Mallya's barrister Ben Watson confirmed the news saying his legal team had received 800 pages of materials from the Indian government regarding the case. Watson said Mallya wished to engage with the extradition process “as constructively as possible”.
Senior district judge Ms Arbuthnot said the extradition hearing would start on December 4 and wll last two weeks, following which she will make a decision. An extradition could however, take years as the legal process offers a number of opportunities to appeal against a decision. A 2000-page dossier has been filed as part of evidence against the fugitive businessman. The Indian High Commission released a statement expressing satisfaction at the hearing dates “despite delaying tactics” by the liquor baron.
It revealed that the documents include charges filed in the Indian court, documentary evidence of the offences and statement of witnesses. “Evidence regarding the falsities and misrepresentations made by Mr Vijay Mallya and officials of the Kingfisher Airlines have also been provided.”
