Monday, February 20, 2017

Govt moves a step further over Vijay Mallya's extradition

New Delhi: In a fresh blow to the beleaguered businessman and liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Union Home Ministry has forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) a court-issued request to bring him back from United Kingdom to India to face money laundering probe. The MEA is expected to take up the issue with UK soon.
The Mumbai special court order has been attached in MHA's letter to MEA which approved the Enforcement Directorate's request to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to bring back Mallya to the country.
The External Affairs Ministry has been requested to forward the communication to the authorities in the UK to extradite Mallya to India, official sources said.However, in absence of extradition treaty with UK, the process is expected to take a couple of months.
While the MEA has put the ball in UK's court in the past,  EU countries have not handed over wanted persons by India on account of alleged ill treatment meted out to convicts in the jails here. A plea which has been used by many wanted accused against deportation for trial in India.
However, 1992 India-UK MLAT has a clause through which the treaty can be invoked in a criminal probe seeking the "transfer of persons, including persons in custody, for India."
The Mumbai special court,  which is entrusted with hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had last fortnight approved the ED's request to issue an order against Mallya under the India-UK treaty.
20/02/17 Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu/India Today
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