Return Flight Is Far Off

- Ushinor Majumdar

A court in London ruled on Dec­ember 10 that Vijay Mallya can be extradited to face charges in India. However, it may be a while before he actually lands in India to face trial for wilful default of a Rs 9,000­crore loan and allied charges. The court sent Mallya’s file to the UK Home Office, which will decide if the extradition will take place. The process is expected to take around eight weeks, during which time both Mallya and the Indian gov­ernment could make representa­tions. “It is possible that Mallya will press for political asylum in the UK at this time. That is currently the first way out. He will have to move while the magistrate’s order is being stud­ied by the UK Home Office,” a top offi­cial involved in the case tells Outlook.