Vijay Mallya extradition case: Govt mulls new submission on suitable jail conditions

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, (PTI File Photo)

After a UK court hearing extradition proceedings against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya refused extradition of another suspect to India on the grounds of poor jail conditions, the government is mulling fresh submission in the court, assuring that Mallya would be incarcerated in suitable conditions, sources have said.

Sources in CBI and ED said that a way may be worked out and the court may be assured that his stay in a jail or any other place would have the suitable environment and conditions. “This thing is being discussed. The government has powers to declare any place as jail. The whole idea is to bring Mallya back and that it shouldn’t fail despite a strong case against him,” an ED official said.

The government had earlier told the court that Mallya, after being brought back, would be lodged at Arthur Road Jail which has a special cell for suspects who have come through the extradition process.

A judge at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London ruled in favour of UK-based alleged bookie Sanjeev Kumar Chawla on October 16, saying his incarceration in Tihar Jail would violate his human rights.

Chawla is a key accused in the cricket match-fixing scandal involving former South African captain Hansie Cronje in 2000. District Judge Rebecca Crane said she was satisfied there was a prima facie case against Chawla. However, on hearing expert evidence from Dr Alan Mitchell, a licensed medical practitioner, she ruled in favour of Chawla on the grounds that his human rights would be violated in Tihar Jail.

Coming weeks before the court hearing in the Mallya case on November 20, the development is expected to have a bearing on the extradition request.