Former liquor tycoon and now a loan defaulter absconding from India, Vijay Mallya today jeered at Indian banks and judiciary after his hearing in the extradition case in the Metropolitan Magistrates Court in London. Mallya was granted bail until December 6 while the next hearing in the case will be held on July 6.
After coming out of the court, Mallya said that “it was his lawful duty to be here”.
Speaking to reporters after walking out of the court, Mallya said that he will make his submission before the appropriate court and that he was not answerable to the media.
Claiming that no loans were diverted anywhere, Mallya said, “Keep dreaming about the billion pounds, provided you have facts to justify your questions”.
When asked about being called a ‘chor’ by Indian supporters outside The Oval before the India-South Africa Champions trophy match, he said, “I was not called a thief that day by crowd at Oval ground.Two drunk people were shouting but several others came and wished me well.”
In the hearing, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is arguing on behalf of India. An earlier hearing scheduled on May 13 was deferred by a month.
Ahead of the hearing, Mallya said that he was not eluding the court, adding that he had enough evidence to prove himself innocent.
“I have nothing to say, I deny all allegations. I have not eluded any court,” he said.
“I deny all allegations, I have enough evidence to prove my case in court,” added Mallya.
Mallya’s son, Siddharth Mallya also attended the court hearing.
Talking about Mallya’s extradition hearing, Minister of State of External Affairs VK Singh on Tuesday said that the process is not as easy as it seems.
Mallya, who is out on bail after being arrested in April by Scotland Yard on a warrant by India, owes as much as Rs 9,000 crore to Indian banks.
He was arrested April 18 after India made a formal extradition request for him on February 8. The 61-year-old chief of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines fled India last year in March and has been living in Britain, mostly, since then.
Last week, Mallya was booed with slogans of " chor, chor " by Indian cricket fans during the cricket match between India and South Africa at The Oval cricket ground in London.
Earlier, he had caused a stir by his attendance of the India vs Pakistan match in BirminghamBSE 0.00 % after which he had declared on Twitter that he would be attending all India matches in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
If the District Judge rules in favour of extradition at the end of the trial, the UK home secretary must order Mallya's extradition within two months of the appropriate day. However, the case can go through a series of appeals before arriving at a conclusion.
India and the UK have an Extradition Treaty, signed in 1992, but so far only one extradition has taken place under the arrangement - Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was sent back to India last October to face trial in connection with his involvement in the post-Godhra riots of 2002.
However, unlike Mallya, he had submitted to the extradition order without legal challenge.
