The tycoon Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in India on loan defaults, has appeared before London’s Westminster Magistrate court on Tuesday, for his extradition case hearing. He claimed that he has “enough evidence” to plead his case. However, the court has granted bail until 4 December and has set next hearing for July 6, PTI reported.
He denied all the allegations against him and said, ” I have nothing to say to you; I have enough evidence to prove I am not guilty”.
“The court proceedings are on… I have denied all allegations, and I will continue to do the same,” he added.
Last year, in March, Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines owes Rs 9000 crore to Indian banks, had fled the country. he has been living in Britain mostly since then. However, he was arrested on April 18 by Scotland Yard after India made a formal extradition request for him on February 8. But after attending a central London police station for his arrest, he was released on a conditional bail bond worth 650,000 pounds.
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As reported by News18, he will today find out the timetable to be set by the judge to hear the arguments for and against his extradition in what is referred to as a “case management hearing”. the District Judge is likely to set down a timetable for the service of any evidence when the case returns to court and list a date for a final hearing.
Partner at Peters and Peters Solicitors LLP and a member of the UK’s Extradition Lawyers Association, Jasvinder Nakhwal explained, “There might be a few more hearings in this case in the coming months to deal with case management or any issues that arise, before the final hearing takes place, at which the full arguments from both sides, in this case, will be heard by the District Judge”.
As per schedule, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will be arguing on behalf of India at the Westminister court. However, a, earlier hearing scheduled for May 17 was postponed to June 13.
Official sources told PTI last month, “Our aim is to build a strong, infallible case and these meetings will help resolve issues across the table. The CPS will be arguing based on documents provided by CBI and ED, therefore a joint team is here to address queries they may have”.
Recently, Mallya was in the news after he attended the matches played by India in the ICC Trophy in England. He even made an appearance at Captain Virat Kohli’s fundraising dinner to raise funds for anti-human trafficking charity Justice and Care.
