Vijay Mallya contempt case: SC gives last chance, adjourns hearing for Feb 24

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned for February 24 a contempt case against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, granting him two weeks' time as the last opportunity to appear before it personally or through counsel, reported news agency ANI.

The apex court also added that if Mallya fails to do so, "the court will take the case to a logical conclusion."

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya was held guilty of contempt in 2017 and the matter was thereafter to be listed to hear him on the proposed punishment to be awarded to him.

The top court had last year dismissed Mallya's plea seeking review of its 2017 verdict which held him guilty of contempt for transferring $40 million to his children in violations of the court orders.

The apex court noted that as per an office memorandum, under the signature of Deputy Secretary (extradition) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), placed before it, the proceedings for extradition have attained finality and Mallya has "exhausted all avenues for appeal" in the UK.

On January 18, 2021, the Centre had told the top court that the government is making all efforts to extradite Mallya from the UK but the process is being delayed due to some legal issues involved in the matter.

The MEA has raised the issue of extradition with the UK government and the Centre was making all serious efforts to extradite Mallya, Mehta had said. Mallya is in the UK since March 2016. He is on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.

Earlier, the top court had asked the Centre to file a status report in six weeks on the confidential legal proceedings pending in the UK on the extradition of Mallya to India. The Centre had also told the apex court that Mallya cannot be extradited to India until a separate "secret" legal process in the UK, which is "judicial and confidential in nature is resolved".

The Centre had in October, 2020 said it is not aware of the secret ongoing proceedings against Mallya in the UK as the Government of India is not a party to the process. It had earlier given details of the extradition proceedings against Mallya starting from February 9, 2017, till the dismissal of his appeal against extradition in the UK on May 14 last year and said that he has thus exhausted all avenues of appeal in the UK.

The Centre had said that following the refusal of leave to appeal, Mallya's surrender to India should, in principle, have been completed within 28 days but "the UK home office intimated that there is a further legal issue which needs to be resolved before Vijay Mallya's extradition may take place".

(With agency inputs)