ED requests Red Notice to get Mallya extradited

The United Kingdom has informed that it cannot deport Vijay Mallya to India for not owning a valid Indian passport.

Vijay Mallya.

Even as the Enforcement Directorate initiated proceedings for the extradition of businessman Vijay Mallya, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday forwarded to the Interpol its request for issuance of a Red Notice against him to facilitate this.

After the U.K. authorities expressed their inability to deport Mr. Mallya on technical grounds earlier this week, the ED wrote to the nodal agency CBI to forward its request for a Red Notice. “We have sent the ED’s request to Interpol for further processing,” said a CBI official.

In former IPL chief Lalit Modi’s case, Interpol has not issued a Red Notice despite repeated attempts by India.

According to sources, the ED is also preparing to launch extradition proceedings against Mr. Mallya in the U.K. through the External Affairs Ministry.

Article 11 of the India-UK Extradition Treaty (1993) says the request must be accompanied by an accurate description of the person, his nationality and residence; a statement of the facts of the alleged offence; legal provisions invoked and the maximum punishment prescribed.

The provision says that the request must be accompanied by an accurate description of the person, his nationality and residence; a statement of the facts of the alleged offence; legal provisions invoked and their definition and the maximum punishment prescribed there-under.

“If the request relates to an accused person, it must also be accompanied by a warrant of arrest issued by a judge, magistrate or other competent authority in the territory of the Requesting State [India] and by such evidence as, according to the law of the Requested State, would justify his committal for trial if the offence had been committed in the territory of the Requested State,” says sub-clause 3 of Article 11.

U.K. authorities may seek additional evidence or information in case.

Both the CBI and the ED have registered a case against Mr. Mallya, his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines and others for alleged criminal conspiracy and wilful default of a Rs.900 crore-loan from IDBI.