- Vijay Mallya told Bombay HC he cannot specify return time due to UK legal orders
- HC asked Mallya’s counsel to detail UK restrictions and challenge status by March 11
- HC said fugitive litigants must return or commit to return before seeking relief
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday informed the Bombay High Court that he is presently not in a position to specify when he can return to India, citing legal constraints arising from proceedings in the United Kingdom.
Through his attorney, he informed the Bombay High Court that legal orders passed by courts in United Kingdom prohibit him from leaving England and Wales, attempting to travel abroad, or even applying for or holding an international travel document. In view of these restrictions, he has said he is unable to indicate a definite timeline for his return to India.
Appearing for Mallya, senior advocate Amit Desai urged the court to hear the two petitions separately even if his client could not be physically present in India. He relied on judgments of the Supreme Court, submitting that constitutional courts have, in certain cases, proceeded to decide writ petitions despite the absence of petitioners.
The submission comes days after the High Court delivered a firm message that it would not entertain his plea challenging provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act unless he first returned and submitted to its jurisdiction. The court had directed him to clarify whether he intended to return if he wished to pursue relief.
Mallya's counsel argued that orders of courts in England restrict his ability to leave that country, preventing him from committing to a timeline for travel to India.
The Bench, however, questioned the basis of Mallya's stand, observing that he had merely relied on orders of courts in England without clarifying whether he had challenged those directions or sought permission to travel.
The Bench asked Desai to file a comprehensive affidavit setting out the exact nature of the restrictions imposed by UK courts, whether those orders have been challenged, and his precise stand on his return. Granting three weeks time for filing an affidavit, the High Court adjourned the matter to March 11.
The Bombay High Court has repeatedly underlined that a litigant declared a fugitive cannot seek equitable relief while remaining outside the reach of Indian law. It stressed that Mallya cannot "avoid court processes" while simultaneously challenging the very proceedings against him.
The bench has therefore made his physical return, or at least a clear undertaking to do so, a precondition for hearing his petition against the 2018 law.
Mallya's current petition before the Bombay High Court challenges the constitutional validity of provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and the proceedings declaring him a fugitive.
In January 2019, a special court in Mumbai declared Mallya a "fugitive economic offender", enabling authorities to confiscate his properties under the new law. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act allows courts to attach and dispose of assets of individuals who leave India to evade prosecution, even before trial concludes. Authorities attached assets worth thousands of crores as part of recovery efforts tied to the bank loans.
