Vijay Mallya gets jail; good times don’t last forever
India awaits the fugitive at a time when bulldozing of properties of criminals has become a norm and when there is a political vacuum in the UK, where Mallya has been hiding
Screen grab of VM's verified Twitter account
The Supreme Court of India sentenced Vijay Mallya (VM) to four months in jail today and imposed a fine of Rs.2,000 for a 2017 contempt of court case. This could be the beginning of the end of good times for the fugitive, who had projected himself as the invincible bad boy that everyone wants to emulate.
Vijay Mallya is a two-term Rajya Sabha MP (2002-09 and 2010-16) from Karnataka, and owner of United Spirits, United Breweries Group, and RCB cricket league.
In a ruling, judges Uday Umesh Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat, and Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, said, “In the circumstances, in order to maintain the majesty of law, we must impose adequate punishment upon the Contemnor [Vijay Mallya] and must also pass necessary directions so that the advantages secured by the Contemnor or anyone claiming under him are set at naught and the amounts in question are available in execution of the decrees passed in the concerned.”
“Considering the facts and circumstances on record and the facts that the Contemnor never showed any remorse nor tendered any apology for his conduct, we impose sentence of four months and fine in the sum of Rs.2,000/- (Rupees Two Thousand Only) upon the Contemnor.” The fine shall be deposited within four weeks, and if not, he shall undergo further sentence of two months.
Wile the sum may seem small, importantly, Mallya’s custody could nail him firmly in his past cases. The judges said, “We direct the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, to secure the presence of the Contemnor to undergo the imprisonment imposed upon him. Needless to say, Government of India including the Ministry of External Affairs and all other agencies or instrumentalities shall carry out the directions issued by this Court with due diligence and utmost expediency.”
The court also held void Mallya’s transactions in which US$40 million was transferred to his children, and asked him to deposit the amount along with 8% interest per annum with the concerned Recovery Officer within four weeks.
About the extradition efforts by the government of India, it was noted that an extradition request was forwarded to the UK on 9 February 2017 in CBI Case under Sections 120B read with 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
On 10 December 2018, the Senior District Judge Westminster Magistrate’s Court, London recommended VM’s extradition to India. VM appealed the Order of his extradition before the High Court of London. The appeal was admitted on the sole ground of sufficiency of prima facie case.
The High Court of London dismissed the appeal on 20 April 2020. VM applied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in the High Court. On 14 May 2020, the High Court of London rejected his application for permission to appeal to Supreme Court. VM has thus exhausted all avenues of appeal in the UK.
The Court noted, “Following the refusal of leave to appeal, VM’s surrender to India should, in principle, have been completed within 28 days. However, the UK Home Office intimated that there is a further legal issue which needs to be resolved before VM’s extradition may take place. The UK side further said that this issue is outside and apart from the extradition process, but it has the effect that under the United Kingdom law, extradition cannot take place until it is resolved. The High Commission was further informed that the issue is confidential and so it cannot be disclosed.”
It may be assumed that there could be some kind of protection for the rich who migrate to the UK, but given the political instability now in the UK, there is a real possibility that Mallya could be extradited, especially with the Supreme Court’s ruling today.
Mallya’s extradition and attachment of property could mean a part justice for all the employees in his liquor and airlines businesses who were helplessly grounded when Mallya defaulted on bank loans and stopped paying salaries around 10 years ago.
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