Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday told Vijay Mallya that it would consider his petition challenging the validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, only if he returned to India.
“You have to come back. If you cannot come back, then we cannot hear this plea,” the bench observed, according to Bar and Bench.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad is hearing Mallya’s challenge to the Act and the proceedings that declared him a fugitive economic offender. The court said his plea would not be entertained unless he submitted to its jurisdiction.
On Thursday, the court noted that Mallya had still not filed an affidavit stating whether he intended to return to India, despite earlier directions.
“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 Act,” the bench remarked.
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that Mallya was free to come to India and present his case but could not question the country’s legal system while seeking equitable relief.
“He can come and discuss everything mentioned in the affidavit — whether he is ready to pay, not ready to pay, or not liable to pay. But he cannot distrust the law of this country and still invoke equity jurisdiction,” Mehta said.
Mallya’s counsel, Amit Desai, cited a judgment to contend that his client could be heard without returning to India. However, the bench reiterated that an earlier order required Mallya to indicate when he proposed to come back.
The court warned that it may pass orders for non-compliance if he failed to respond by the next hearing, while granting him another opportunity instead of dismissing the plea.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated in December that India remained committed to ensuring that fugitives wanted by law return to face trial, with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying discussions with several governments were ongoing to facilitate such returns.
