To vote in Assembly polls my democratic right but can't travel to India, says Vijay Mallya
Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Thursday said that it was democratic right to vote in the state Assembly elections, but lamented that he cannot travel to India as he is wanted here in fraud and money laundering case.
The 62-year-old has represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha. The state goes to polls on May 12 and the counting of votes will be done on May 15.
"It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka, but as you know I am here and cannot travel," he told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court in connection with a hearing in his ongoing extradition trial, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases.
Mallya had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Upper House of Parliament between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008. He was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from the southern state on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016.
When asked about his opinion on the Karnataka polls, he said "I haven't been following the politics so closely, so I have no opinion (on the polls)."
CBI gets boost on evidence admissibility; next hearing on July 11
The bulk of the evidence submitted by Indian authorities against embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya was today admitted by a UK court in connection with his ongoing extradition trial.
The 62-year-old, who is wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore, had his 650,000 pounds bail extended until the next date of hearing on July 11.
When the court reconvenes, oral submissions will be made on closing arguments to be submitted in writing to Judge Emma Arbuthnot of the Westminister Magistrate's Court over the next two months.
The judge is then expected to indicate plans for a verdict in the case at the next hearing.
Earlier, Mallya was back in court for the hearing during which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) got a boost as the judge confirmed that the bulk of the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities will be admissible.
Today's hearing comes days after the Indian government's High Court appeal against a previous Westminster Magistrates' Court extradition ruling that had been denied.
UK-based Sanjeev Kumar Chawla, wanted in India as a key accused in the cricket match-fixing scandal involving former South African captain Hanse Cronje in 2000, had been discharged in October last year on human rights grounds over severe conditions in Delhi's Tihar Jail, where the accused was to be held on being extradited.
District Judge Rebecca Crane had based her verdict to discharge Chawla largely upon the testimony of Dr Alan Mitchell, former head of healthcare at the Scottish Prison Service and an elected member of the European Council's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
Mallya's defence team has previously deposed the same prisons expert in his extradition case, who told Judge Arbuthnot during the course of the trial that conditions in all Indian jails are "far from satisfactory".
During the last hearing in the case in March, CPS barrister Mark Summers reiterated that the Indian government had provided further clarifications related to availability of natural light and medical assistance at Barrack 12 of Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road, where Mallya is to be held if he is extradited from the UK.
The trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016.
It also seeks to prove there are no "bars to extradition" and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crore in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.
The CPS, representing the Indian government, has argued that the evidence they have presented establishes "dishonesty" on the part of the businessman and that there are no bars to him being extradited from the UK to face Indian courts.
Mallya's defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no "fraudulent" intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India.
If the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary will have two months to sign Mallya's extradition order.
However, both sides will have the chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the Magistrates' Court verdict.
