As Vijay Mallya plans to initiate legal process, know what options lie ahead for the liquor baron

New Delhi:

What can be termed as a big victory for the Narendra Modi government in the Vijay Mallya case, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Monday signed the order to extradite him to India. The 63-year-old businessman had lost a legal challenge against his extradition in a British court in December. Under the Extradition Treaty procedures, the Chief Magistrate's verdict was sent to the Home Secretary because only he is authorised to order Mallya's extradition.

Mallya is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017 after the Indian authorities brought fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores against the former Kingfisher Airlines boss. The UK court had said it was satisfied with the various assurances provided by the Indian government, including a video of the jail cell, which had not only been recently redecorated but was also far larger than the minimum requirement threshold. 

These are the legal options left for the liquor baron:

• Vijay Mallya now has a 14-day window to appeal to a higher court.
• The UK high court will hear both his appeals, against the Secretary’s decision as well as the decision of the Magistrate to send his case to the Secretary in the first place.
• During these appeals, Vijay Mallya will get to argue all aspects of the cases, including whether his guilt has been prima facie established, as well as his arguments on jail conditions and fair trial.
• The appeals are only likely to be heard after several months, subject to the High Court’s schedule, and could take a further few months for the hearings to be completed.

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