Vijay Mallya loses leave to appeal against extradition in UK Supreme Court

MUMBAI: Vijay Mallya has lost his plea in the UK Supreme Court to appeal against a 2018 extradition order, triggering a 28-day “required period” after which the 64-year-old businessman could be sent to India.

Mallya is facing charges of bank fraud and money laundering in India.

While the rejection of permission to appeal has likely ended the legal options available for him in the UK to avoid extradition, he could still approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) claiming that he would not receive a fair trial back home, legal experts said.

He may cite the Covid-19 pandemic and claim that his extradition is in breach of certain provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is a signatory, said a person in the know of the matter. “He could cite media reports of over 100 Covid-19 positive cases in Arthur Road Jail … as a delay tactic,” said the person.

During his extradition hearing before the Westminster court, Mallya had raised issues such as the condition of jails in India. The court was then given a video report of the detention centre at the Arthur Road Jail. It approved the facility to lodge him.

“The challenge before the Indian agencies would be to convince the ECHR that special provisions will be made to ensure that the Arthur Road Jail facility will be safe for his detention or he could be shifted to another prison facility that meets all the requisite requirements,” added the official.