The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a reply in the Bombay High Court on liquor baron Vijay Mallya's plea challenging the order of a special court which declared him a fugitive economic offender.

The court had sought a reply from the ED after Mallaya moved an application in the High Court challenging the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court order to declare him a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic Offender Act (FEOA), 2018.

The PMLA court on March 20 adjourned the hearing on the confiscation of Vijay Mallya's properties for April 8.

Mallya on Saturday quoted an interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assert that the government has already recovered more than what he allegedly owed to Indian banks.

"I humbly submit my assertion that I am a poster boy, who is fully vindicated by the PM's own statement about me (by name) that his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the Banks. Fact that I have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away," he tweeted.

Mallya faces a trial in the UK to extradite him to India. The 62-year-old is wanted in the country on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore.

In an interview to a news channel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been quoted saying that "you must've seen in the case of Vijay Mallya. He owed banks Rs 9,000 crore but the government has confiscated his properties worth Rs 14,000 crore from across the world. Now, he is in trouble because we are taking double the amount.

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