Mallya Challenges Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Hearing Adjourned to March 11

In a statement made to the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, fugitive Indian business magnate Vijay Mallya said he is not in a position to indicate when he will return home. Mallya cited legal issues in the United Kingdom.

Through his lawyer, he notified the Bombay High Court that legal orders registered before the United Kingdom courts barred him from leaving England and Wales, attempting to leave the country, or seeking any international travel documents. With such limitations, he cannot state the time frame for returning to India.

Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for the embattled billionaire, urged the court to take up the petitions separately, though his client is not in a position to physically attend the hearing in India. Citing Supreme Court rulings, he argued that in some cases, constitutional courts have decided writ petitions despite the petitioner's absence.

This comes just days after the High Court issued a firm message stating that it would not hear Mallya's petition challenging the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act until he returned to its jurisdiction. The court directed him to clarify whether he intended to return if he sought relief.

Mallya's lawyer argued that the English court orders restrict his ability to leave that country, preventing him from setting a timeline for his travel to India.

However, the bench questioned the basis of Mallya's stand, noting that he had only relied on orders from English courts, without clarifying whether he had challenged those orders or sought permission to travel.

The bench asked Desai to file a complete affidavit stating the exact nature of the restrictions imposed by the UK courts, whether those orders had been challenged, and his correct position on his return. Granting him three weeks to file the affidavit, the High Court adjourned the matter until March 11.

The Bombay High Court has repeatedly emphasized that a litigant declared a fugitive cannot seek valid relief while remaining beyond the reach of Indian law. The court emphasized that Mallya cannot escape court action by challenging the proceedings against him.

Therefore, the bench has made his physical return, or at least a clear promise to do so, a condition for hearing his petition against the 2018 law.

Mallya's current petition in the Bombay High Court challenges the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and the action declaring him a fugitive.