Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, General V.K. Singh (Retd.) on Tuesday said fugitive Kingfisher boss Vijay Mallya would be brought back to India. However, he refused to give a particular time frame for the same.
Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines allegedly owes more than Rs. 9,000 crore to various banks, had fled from India to United Kingdom (U.K.) on March 2, 2016.
Singh said that the government was waiting for the U.K. Government to examine the documents sent by India's Ministry of External Affairs under the extradition treaty, and hence, once approved, the embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya would be brought back to the country.
"He is in the U.K. There is a treaty between the U.K. and India, so they are examining documents. Once they decide, based on our documents or seek clarifications from us, based on that, we can bring Mallya back, but can't fix the time frame," Singh told media here.
He further added that the process of extraditing a person from foreign land is far more complex as a particular country's law takes supremacy.
"When we sign an extradition treaty with a country, there are some conditions. The U.K. and its laws believe that when a person, with a valid passport, enters their country and later if we invalidate or dismiss his passport that country's government doesn't take action," said the MoS.
"Hence, if you remember that when we dismissed his passport, the U.K. Government asked for certain documents under the extradition treaty. They will first examine and then decide whether that person can be extradited or not. But extradition will definitely take place," added Singh.
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The minister's statement on Mallya came on a day when a hearing is scheduled in London on the extradition of absconding loans-defaulter. Mallya is out on bail after being arrested in April by Scotland Yard on a warrant by India.
In April this year, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that Mallya's extradition was stratified by the Secretary of State of the U.K. Government and added that a warrant would soon be released against him.
On February 8, India had given a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the extradition treaty between India and the U.K. through a diplomatic communication.