Vijay Mallya fled India after defaulting on loans worth over Rs 9,000 crores.
India on Monday expressed "deep satisfaction" over a UK court judgement which ordered Vijay Mallya's extradition after concluding that the "flashy billionaire" does have a case to answer in the Indian courts over substantial "misrepresentations" of his financial dealings.
Chief Magistrate of the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, Judge Emma Arbuthnot ordered Vijay Mallya's extradition, in a major boost to India's efforts to bring back the 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, wanted for alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crores.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India will continue to work with the British government for "expeditious" implementation of the court order. "We express our deep satisfaction at the judgement and note that justice has been delivered today. We thank the UK authorities for their help in this matter," Mr Kumar said.
"We will continue to work with the UK Government for expeditious implementation of today's court order and early extradition of Mallya to India," he added.
Delivering the verdict at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Judge Arbuthnot said there is a prima facie case against Vijay Mallya and that she is satisfied that his rights would not be infringed in Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he will be imprisoned. The court made a specific reference to special medical facilities being given to him.
The court also dismissed the defence's attempts to dispute Indian prison conditions as a bar to his extradition on human rights grounds, saying the video of the Barrack 12 of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, where Vijay Mallya would be taken, "gives accurate portrayal and has been recently redecorated".