India’s parliament on Wednesday accepted Vijay Mallya’s resignation of his seat, after the embattled liquor tycoon resubmitted his letter in line with the correct procedures.
The 60-year-old multimillionaire left India for Britain on March 2 owing more than £1 billion in unpaid loans, and is being investigated by India’s financial crimes agency.
The government has revoked his passport and asked Britain to deport him, but Mallya told the Financial Times last week he had no plans to leave and wanted to reach a “reasonable” settlement with Indian banks.
Mallya had resigned from his seat in parliament’s upper house—or the Rajya Sabha—Monday but his resignation was rejected after chairman Hamid Ansari raised doubts over the veracity of his letter sent from Britain.
Ansari’s spokesman Gurdeep Singh Sappal confirmed Wednesday that Mallya’s resignation had been accepted.
“Hamid Ansari… accepts resignation of Vijay Mallya, resubmitted unconditionally and as per correct procedure,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Second resignation letter was sent in original. SG (solicitor general) confirmed from Mallya that resignation tendered was genuine, voluntary and unconditional.”
Last month, the Rajya Sabha’s ethics committee had recommended his expulsion from parliament over huge bank defaults.
On Monday, Mallya said in his letter that he did not want his name to be “further dragged in the mud” and called the accusations against him “false and baseless”.
Critics say the government has not done enough to tackle the issue of wealthy individuals such as Mallya, once dubbed the King of Good Times for his lavish lifestyle, failing to repay bank loans.
The debts relate to Mallya’s now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which shut down in 2012 having never made a profit.
Last month an Indian court issued an arrest warrant for him after he repeatedly failed to appear before investigators looking into Kingfisher’s finances.
A two-time independent MP, he also ran a liquor empire and is a part-owner of the Force India Formula 1 team. His Twitter profile now describes him as a “former member of parliament”.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)