The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that if Vijay Mallya wants the court to consider his petition challenging the validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEO Act), he should first return to India.
“You have to come back. If you cannot come back, then we cannot hear this plea,” the bench warned, according to a report by Bar and Bench
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad is hearing Mallya’s plea challenging the FEO Act and the proceedings declaring him a fugitive economic offender.
The court also asked him to make it clear that his challenge to the Act would not be heard unless he submitted to the court’s jurisdiction, the report added.
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Despite these directions, the court noted on Thursday that Mallya had failed to submit an affidavit stating his intention to return to India.
{{/usCountry}}Despite these directions, the court noted on Thursday that Mallya had failed to submit an affidavit stating his intention to return to India.
{{/usCountry}}“You are avoiding the process of the Indian and UK courts, so you cannot take advantage of the present petition challenging the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act,” the court remarked.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the ED and said that Mallya could come to India and argue, but he cannot distrust the law of the land and still claim equity.
“He can come and discuss everything mentioned in the affidavit — that he is ready to pay, not ready to pay, or not liable to pay. But he cannot ‘not’ trust the law of this country and invoke equity jurisdiction,” Mehta said.
Mallya’s advocate, Amit Desai, sought to rely on a judgment to argue that Mallya could be heard without returning to India.
The bench stressed that there was an existing order directing Mallya to indicate when he proposes to return.
The bench added that it would now have to pass orders for non-compliance if he failed to do so by the next date as well. “In fairness to you, we are not dismissing it; we are giving you another opportunity,” the court told Mallya.
India is “fully committed” that fugitives and people “wanted by law” in the country return here to face trial before the courts, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a press briefing in December.
“We remain fully committed that people who are fugitive and wanted by law in India, return to the country. For this, we are in talks with several governments and processes are on,” Jaiswal said.