The United Kingdom has assured India of expeditious action on its request for the custody of wanted persons, including businessman Vijay Mallya, during a two-day dialogue on issues related to extradition and mutual legal assistance that concluded here on Tuesday.
In an official statement, the External Affairs Ministry said the meeting was held pursuant to the decision taken during the visit of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to India last November.
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May’s visit
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During her visit, Ms. May and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed officials dealing with extradition matters from each side to meet at the earliest to develop a better understanding of the legal processes and requirements of the other, share best practices, identify the causes of delays and expedite pending requests.
Key legal aspects
The Indian delegation, led by the Joint Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa), Ministry of External Affairs, had representatives from the Union Home and Law Ministries and investigating agencies.
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The foreign delegation was headed by chief of the U.K. Central Authority for Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance, the U.K. Home Office, representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service and the U.K. High Commission in Delhi.
Indian agencies gave elaborate presentations on key legal aspects of the cases for which they had sought help under the 1993 Extradition Treaty and the 1995 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United Kingdom.
They also highlighted unexplored provisions which could be invoked for expeditious action.
One of the prominent cases on the agenda was of Vijay Mallya, who faces probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate for alleged wilful default of over ₹9,000 crore bank loan.
He is currently in London and has refused to join legal proceedings back home despite the court’s intervention. Several non-bailable warrants are pending against him.