British court fixes July 2 for oral hearing of Vijay Mallya’s plea

The London High Court will hear fugitive Indian business tycoon, Vijay Mallya's oral plea on July 2, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said yesterday (1).

The hearing has been scheduled after Mallya filed a petition to appeal against his extradition order to India.

On February 4, British home secretary Sajid Javid signed an order to extradite former boss of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines to India to face legal proceedings inconnection with alleged financial irregularities.

Mallya opted to seek an oral hearing after his written application for permission to appeal against his extradition order was rejected on April 5.

A spokesperson for the CPS said: “The oral hearing on whether or not Vijay Mallya should be granted permission to appeal against extradition will be on July 2 at the High Court”.

“It is listed for one day. The judges will probably reserve their decision, but if the argument ends early enough they could give their decision the same day,” added CPS, which acts on behalf of the Indian government in the UK courts.

The 63-year-old Mallya is fighting against his extradition order from the UK to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated £1 billion.

Mallya is also facing a flurry of other legal cases in the UK courts related to a worldwide freezing order and a threat of foreclosure of one of his residences in London.

The embattled business tycoon is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017.