Former liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Wednesday whereas citing orders handed by the courts in England, instructed the Bombay Excessive Court docket that he’s unable to ‘exactly’ spell out as to by when he would precisely return to India for the reason that English courts have barred him from leaving their jurisdiction.
Notably, a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad had on December 22, 2025, made it clear that it’s going to not hear Mallya’s plea towards the validity of the Fugitive Financial Offenders (FEO) Act except he returns to India. The bench had final week granted yet one more probability to Mallya to spell out if he had any plans to return to India.
In pursuance to the identical, on Wednesday, Mallya furnished his ‘assertion’ earlier than the judges by senior advocate Amit Desai, which he claimed had been based mostly on ‘directions’ given by the previous proprietor of Kingfisher group to his Lawyer.
“Pursuant to orders handed by courts in England, he can’t depart England… At current, he’s unable to exactly state when he’ll return to India… “ Desai learn from the assertion furnished to the bench.
The senior advocate additional instructed the judges that they can not insist his consumer’s private and bodily presence in India for listening to the petition difficult the FEO Act and relied on two judgments of the Supreme Court docket whereby the apex court docket heard petitions in absence of the petitioners, therein.
“If he returns then he will not be a Fugitive anymore after which each the petitions could be infructuous milords,” Desai submitted.
Nevertheless, the judges appeared unimpressed with Mallya’s assertion because it didn’t specify actual causes for his non-return to India.
“However then what’s your apprehensions? You merely depend on orders of the Courts in England however you have not spelt out when you have challenged these orders or not. Are you simply taking these orders as an excuse?” Chief Justice Chandrashekhar remarked.
At this, Desai argued that the English Court docket’s orders clearly bar him from leaving their jurisdiction.
Solicitor Normal Tushar Mehta together with Extra Solicitor Generals SV Raju, Anil Singh assisted by advocate Dhirendra Singh objected to Mallya’s statements stating that “India has a sturdy and vibrant authorized system which is run by rule of legislation” and that Mallya should belief the authorities right here and undergo the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
Throughout the course of the listening to, the judges famous that the assertion furnished earlier than them by Desai had been based mostly on Mallya’s directions to his Lawyer and thus requested his authorized group to file a correct affidavit reproducing his assertion on the identical and file it within the court docket in order that the Union of India can also file their reply to the identical.
The judges have adjourned the listening to until March 11.
