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The Bombay High Court on Thursday, February 12, made it clear that it will not hear fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s challenge to the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, unless he returns to India and submits to the court’s jurisdiction.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said Mallya could not seek discretionary relief from Indian courts while continuing to remain in the United Kingdom.
“You have to come back. If you cannot come back, then we cannot hear this plea,” the Bench told Mallya.
The court was hearing Mallya’s petitions challenging both the constitutional validity of the FEO Act and the proceedings under which he was declared a fugitive economic offender. The Bench noted that despite a December 23 order directing him to file an affidavit stating when he intended to return to India, no clear undertaking had been given so far.
The court reiterated that his challenge to the vires of the FEO Act would not be considered unless he first submitted to its jurisdiction. “You are avoiding the process of the (Indian and UK) court, so you cannot take advantage of the present petition challenging the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act,” the Bench remarked.
Asking Mallya to clarify his position through an affidavit, Chief Justice Chandrashekhar said, “When will you come? You have already argued that you are entitled to a hearing without your physical presence in a court of law. But first file an affidavit clearly stating so.”
The Bench cautioned that it may be compelled to record that Mallya was avoiding the process of law. “You cannot take benefit of the proceedings. In all fairness to you, we are not dismissing the petition but giving you another opportunity,” it said, while adjourning the matter to February 18.
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that Mallya had challenged the 2018 Act only after being declared a fugitive economic offender, and at a time when extradition proceedings against him in London were nearing conclusion.
“He can come and discuss everything that is mentioned in the affidavit. That I am ready to pay, not ready to pay, not liable to pay. But he cannot ‘not’ trust the law of this country and invoke equity jurisdiction,” the Solicitor General submitted, adding that Mallya could not distrust Indian law while simultaneously seeking relief from Indian courts.
Senior Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mallya, relied on previous judgements to argue that such petitions could be heard without the petitioner’s physical presence. He also pointed out that Mallya’s properties in India had already been attached by enforcement agencies.
Mallya, who left India in March 2016, was declared a fugitive economic offender in January 2019 by a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He faces allegations of fraud and money laundering in connection with loans of over Rs 9,000 crore taken by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of banks.
The High Court underlined that allowing challenges from abroad would defeat the very purpose of the FEO Act, which was enacted to deter economic offenders from fleeing the country and frustrating the judicial process.